More than a year after spinning off its electrical division, the refocused filtration giant Pentair PLC improved sharply, beating Wall Street's expectations to deliver a solid second quarter with 2% sales growth, officials announced before the market opened.
The growth was welcome news following a disappointing first quarter in which Pentair missed Wall Street expectations and downgraded its forecast. Pentair's stock price rose nearly 5% to $39.32 a share.
"We delivered solid second-quarter performance even as weather issues lingered during the quarter in several of our key markets," said CEO John Stauch. "Our recent acquisitions are performing well and are helping to further our residential and commercial water treatment strategy. During the quarter, we successfully completed a bond offering and our balance sheet remains in excellent shape. Looking ahead, we remain confident that we will exit the year positioned for more normalized performance in 2020."
On Tuesday, the pump and filtration giant that is based in England but largely managed from Golden Valley, reported that sales rose 2% to $800 million during the quarter ended June 30. Net income more than doubled to $114 million, or 67 cents a share. Excluding one-time items, profits were 69 cents a share, 4 cents better than analysts predicted.
The company — which spun off its enclosures and electrical business into nVent Electric (also based in England but run out of St. Louis Park) in April 2018 — updated its full-year 2019 forecast, saying earnings should be $2.13 per share or $2.35 per share on an adjusted basis. Sales are expected to grow 0 to 1%.
Third-quarter earnings are expected to reach 50 to 52 cents a share on sales that rise 0 to 2%.
Dee DePass • 612-673-7725
