New Britain hand- and power-tools maker Stanley Black & Decker said its first-quarter sales rose 4 percent thanks to new business and recent acquisitions, though its overall profit remained flat as it continued to deal with the effects of tariffs and foreign currency fluctuations.
For the three months ended March 31, the manufacturer on Wednesday posted net income of $169.9 million, or $1.13 a diluted share, down about 0.5 percent from the $170.6 million, or $1.11 a diluted share, netted in the same quarter last year.
Sales totaled $3.3 billion vs. $3.2 billion a year earlier.
Both profits and sales beat Wall Street expectations.
Stanley raised its full-year earnings outlook, on an adjusted basis, in the range of $8.50 to $8.70 per share, up from $8.45 to $8.65.
The improved outlook reflects its recently completed acquisition of the heavy-tool attachments portfolio of Illinois tool vendor IES Attachments Group and its January divestiture of Kentucky-based Sargent and Greenleaf, which manufactures combination locks and key-operated safe locks.
Stanley’s “solid start” to 2019 also reflects its recently completed $250 million cost-cutting plan, said Donald Allan Jr., executive vice president and CFO.
In December, the company told Hartford Business Journal those cuts included an unspecified number of layoffs in Connecticut.
“These factors, along with the beginning impacts of certain margin enhancement initiatives will result in operating margin and rate expansion in 2019, and we expect meaningful expansion in the second half of the year,” CEO and President James Loree said in a conference call with investors.
The 176-year-old company also grew its Hartford presence during the first quarter, launching a 23,000-square-foot innovation hub, known as Manufactory 4.0, at One Constitution Plaza, and becoming a brand sponsor of the Hartford Athletic, the city’s new pro soccer club.
