Toro's new motto should be "Let it Snow!"
Toro Co. blew past Wall Street's expectations Thursday by posting record fourth-quarter earnings that benefited handsomely from the recently acquired Boss snowplow equipment business.
The Bloomington-based maker of professional and residential lawn mowers, leaf blowers and snow throwers, bought the Boss snowplow and de-icing equipment business a year ago.
Toro CEO Michael Hoffman told analysts during a conference call Thursday that the Boss line doubled the company's snow equipment sales from 5 percent of revenue to a welcome 10 percent.
In addition, the company saw increases in golf maintenance equipment sales and in landscape equipment orders.
Toro's fourth-quarter profits leapt 115 percent to $23.5 million, or 42 cents a share, on sales that grew 16 percent to $480.8 million. Profits beat analysts' expectations by 3 pennies per share, while the revenue beat expectations by $11 million.
For full fiscal 2015, which ended Oct. 31, Toro generated profits of $201.6 million, or $3.55 a share, and sales that grew 10 percent to $2.39 billion. Those results also beat analysts' expectations.
Company officials said Toro did not escape negative foreign currency exchange rates that are hitting other manufacturers. Sales would have been 2 percentage points higher.
