* Q1 adj EPS $0.96 vs est $0.71
* Q1 net sales more than double
* Sees Q2 sales up 35-40 pct
* Shares rise as much as 27 pct
May 8 (Reuters) – Generator maker Generac Holdings Inc
posted better-than-expected quarterly results, helped
by strong demand for residential products, and the company
raised its full-year outlook.
Generac’s shares rose as much as 27 percent to $29.30 on
Tuesday morning, making them the top percentage gainer on the
New York Stock Exchange. The stock later pared some of its gains
to trade up at $28.88.
The company, which makes generators and other engine-powered
products for residential and industrial markets, reported
first-quarter net income of $30.1 million, or 44 cents per
share, up from $4.8 million, or 7 cents per share, a year
earlier.
It earned 96 cents per share on an adjusted basis.
Net sales more than doubled to $294.6 million.
Residential product sales rose 153 percent to $175.1
million.
Analysts on average expected earnings of 71 cents per share
on revenue of $249.7 million, according to Thomson Reuters
I/B/E/S.
Generac now sees 2012 sales growth at the upper end of its
previous outlook of a mid-to-high teens. Second-quarter sales
are expected to increase by 35 percent to 40 percent.
The company also said it intends to pay a special cash
dividend of up to $10 per share before the end of the second
quarter.
