The Toro Company today reported results for its fiscal second-quarter ended May 5, 2023.

“We continued our strong momentum in the second quarter, and delivered record top and bottom-line results,” said Richard M. Olson, chairman and chief executive officer. “These results were driven by our professional segment, where continued demand, operational execution, and supply chain improvements drove broad sales volume gains and increased profitability. In our residential segment, sales volume and earnings were pressured by unfavorable weather patterns and macroeconomic factors. Once again, the strength of our diversified portfolio, growing scale, and disciplined team drove positive results overall.”

Net sales for the quarter were $1.34 billion, up 7% year-over-year from $1.25 billion in the second quarter of 2022.

Second Quarter Fiscal 2023 Segment Results

Professional Segment

Professional segment net sales for the second quarter were $1,068.7 million, up 15.4% from $925.8 million in the same period last year. The increase was primarily driven by higher shipments of products broadly across the segment, with notable strength for construction, and golf and grounds products, and net price realization.

Professional segment earnings for the second quarter were $227.5 million, up 37.6% from $165.4 million in the same period last year, and when expressed as a percentage of net sales, 21.3%, up from 17.9% in the prior-year period. The increase was primarily due to net price realization, favorable product mix, productivity improvements, and net sales leverage, partially offset by higher material and manufacturing costs.

Residential Segment

Residential segment net sales for the second quarter were $265.8 million, down 16.8% from $319.7 million in the same period last year. The decrease was primarily driven by lower shipments of products broadly across the segment, partially offset by net price realization.

Residential segment earnings for the second quarter were $22.7 million, down 38.7% from $37.1 million in the same period last year, and when expressed as a percentage of net sales, 8.6%, down from 11.6% in the prior-year period. The decrease was primarily driven by lower sales volume, higher marketing expense, and higher manufacturing costs, partially offset by net price realization, and lower freight costs.

Outlook

“We enter the second half of fiscal 2023 with continuing strong demand and substantial order backlog for our professional segment products in construction, and golf and grounds markets, as well as indications of a steadily improving supply chain,” said Olson. “We expect this will drive our performance in the second half, with a continuation of improved production rates for key categories as we focus on optimizing output to better serve our customers. Even with production improvements, given the pace of new orders we expect our backlog level to remain elevated throughout and beyond this fiscal year. For the residential segment, we expect sales volume in the second half to be challenged by macroeconomic uncertainty and consumer spending patterns, and to also reflect the impact of the unfavorable weather year to date. Importantly, we expect the benefits from this segment’s refreshed product lineup, expanded channel, and strong brand to continue to drive competitive advantage for the long term.

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