Plumbing and heating products distributor Ferguson on Tuesday reported sharp increases in sales and operating profit over the course of its latest fiscal year.
The company highlighted sales of $28.6 billion over the 12 months ending July 31, an increase of more than 25% compared to the previous 12 months. Its full-year adjusted operating profit, meanwhile, climbed to nearly $3 billion from about $2 billion in the previous fiscal year, an increase of nearly 41%.
The company’s adjusted operating margin climbed 110 basis points year-over-year, while diluted earnings per share jumped nearly 45%.
Ferguson officials attributed the strong numbers to organic growth and “further consolidation of our markets through acquisitions” amid ”labor and supply chain challenges.“ The company said it spent $650 million on 17 acquisitions during the 12-month window.
Ferguson said it expects net sales growth in the low single-digits in its guidance for fiscal year 2023, along with an adjusted operating margin of 9.3% to 9.9%. The distributor ended its latest fiscal year with a 10.7% adjusted operating margin.
“The agility of our business model will enable us to navigate macroeconomic headwinds,” Ferguson CEO Kevin Murphy said in a statement. “Importantly, we remain confident in the strength of our markets over the longer term and our financial guidance continues to reflect market outperformance both organically and from acquisitions.”
For its fiscal fourth quarter, the company reported 21.4% sales growth and a 23.1% operating profit increase. Of the 17 acquisitions during the year, seven were completed in the most recent three-month window.
