Briggs & Stratton Corp. today reported fiscal third quarter net income of $38.5 million, or 78 cents per share, down from $39.9 million, or 80 cents per share, in the same period a year ago.
The company’s quarterly net sales dipped to $637.3 million from $720.1 million a year earlier.
“We continue to see soft demand across international markets for engines and products due to macroeconomic concerns weighing on the minds of consumers and unfavorable weather conditions particularly in Australasia. Brazil continues to be a bright spot for growing our international products business as our Branco acquisition is performing as anticipated,” said Todd Teske, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Briggs & Stratton. “Here in the U.S., the spring lawn and garden season has been delayed by at least a few weeks due to a prolonged cold and wet spring in many parts of the country. This is significantly different from last year when we had an unusually early start to spring with very warm weather across the country. The drought that impacted our industry so significantly last season appears to be improving east of the Mississippi River which is encouraging for the upcoming season. Despite a later start to spring compared to last year, we are optimistic that the U.S. market will be in line with our anticipated growth projections of 4 to 6 percent.”
Due to continued weakness in consumer spending for outdoor power equipment in international markets and a significantly reduced market for snow thrower products in the United States and Europe, the company is revising its fiscal 2013 net income projections to be in a range of $56 million to $65 million, or $1.16 to $1.33 per diluted share. These net income projections include the results of the Branco acquisition closed on Dec. 7, 2012 and are prior to the impact of any additional share repurchases and costs related to our announced restructuring programs.
