Donaldson Co. Inc. has announced fiscal 2017 fourth quarter net earnings of $68.2 million and full-year net earnings of $232.8 million, compared with $59.5 million and $190.8 million, respectively, in fiscal 2016. Fourth quarter 2017 GAAP earnings per share increased 15.9 percent to 51 cents from 44 cents last year, and full-year GAAP EPS increased 22.5 percent to $1.74 from $1.42 in 2016.
The current and prior year GAAP earnings were impacted by one-time items, which are excluded from the company’s calculation of adjusted EPS.
“Sales remained strong through our fourth quarter, and benefits from our strategic initiatives combined with improving market conditions in our Engine segment drove a meaningful increase in full-year sales and earnings,” said Tod Carpenter, president and CEO. “I want to thank our employees for doing an excellent job executing our strategy all year long. Through their efforts, we delivered solid growth in sales of replacement parts and innovative air and liquid products, and we also completed two strategic acquisitions, Partmo and Hy-Pro.
“As we turn to fiscal 2018, we expect the recovery in engine-related end markets to continue, whereas industrial markets are likely to remain uncertain. Although the economic environment is still mixed, we plan to deliver strong earnings growth while also investing in technology development, capacity expansion and customer engagement. We are committed to building on the momentum from 2017, and I am confident that executing our fiscal 2018 priorities will create long-term value for our stakeholders.”
Fiscal 2017 Financial Results
Fourth quarter 2017 sales increased 11.2 percent to $660.1 million from $593.8 million last year, reflecting increases in the engine products and industrial products segments of 17.8 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively.
Fiscal 2017 sales increased 6.8 percent to $2.37 billion from $2.22 billion in 2016. Excluding the negative impact from foreign currency translation, fiscal 2017 sales increased 7.2 percent, reflecting an increase of 11.6 percent in sales of engine products, partially offset by a 0.2 percent decline in industrial products.
During fourth quarter 2017, Donaldson repurchased 650,000 shares, or 0.5 percent, of its common stock at an average price of $46.02 for a total investment of $29.9 million. For the full year, the company repurchased 3.3 million shares, or 2.5 percent, of its common stock at an average price of $42.14 for a total investment of $140.4 million. Donaldson paid fourth quarter and full-year dividends of $22.9 million and $92.4 million, respectively.
Fiscal 2018 Outlook
Donaldson expects fiscal 2018 GAAP EPS between $1.79 and $1.93, compared with fiscal 2017 GAAP EPS of $1.74 and adjusted EPS of $1.69.
The company expects full-year 2018 sales will increase between 4 percent and 8 percent from 2017, including approximately 2 percent related to a favorable impact from currency translation and benefits from the acquisitions completed during fiscal 2017.
