KENOSHA, Wis. — Snap-on has announced its operating results for the second quarter of 2011.

The company reported sales of $726.7 million, an increase of $79.1 million, or 12.2 percent, from 2010 levels; excluding $30 million of favorable foreign currency translation, organic sales increased 7.2 percent.

Operating earnings before financial services increased $19.8 million, or 25.1 percent, from 2010 levels to $98.8 million, and, as a percentage of sales, improved to 13.6 percent from 12.2 percent a year ago.

Net earnings in the second quarter of 2011 were $78 million or $1.33 per diluted share. Excluding an arbitration settlement, net earnings were $66.9 million, or $1.14 per diluted share, as compared with $45.3 million, or 78 cents per diluted share, in the second quarter of 2010.

“We are pleased with our financial results for the second quarter, which we believe further illustrate the strength of Snap-on’s value proposition to professional users performing critical tasks,” said Nick Pinchuk, Snap-on chairman and CEO. “As evidenced by the sales increases in the quarter, we continue to make substantial progress on our runways for coherent growth, and the improvement in our year-over-year operating income margin provides further testament to the power of Snap-on’s Value Creation Processes. As always, I thank our franchisees and associates worldwide for their ongoing dedication and contributions.”

Snap-on anticipates that capital expenditures in 2011 will approximate $65 million, of which $33.3 million was spent in the first six months of 2011. The company said it also expects to incur approximately $13 million of higher year-over-year pension expense in 2011 largely due to the amortization of investment losses incurred in 2008 related to its domestic pension plan assets. Snap-on now anticipates that its full year 2011 effective income tax rate will approximate 33.6 percent.