Heavy equipment dealer Toromont Industries reported Wednesday that it earned higher revenue but lower profits in the first quarter.Seth Perlman
Heavy equipment dealer Toromont Industries Ltd. reported first-quarter revenue of $281.5-million, up 8 per cent from $261.1-million a year ago on higher equipment sales, product support and rentals.
The Toronto-based company said Wednesday it earned $17.2-million or 22 cents per share for the quarter ended March 31, down from a profit of $21.6-million or 28 cents per share in the first three months of last year.
The 2011 results included $7.8-million from the company's natural gas compression business that it spun off last year as Enerflex Ltd.
President and CEO Scott Medhurst was pleased by the results.
"Bookings in the quarter were strong, up 45 per cent from a year ago, with healthy increases in both the construction and resources sectors," Mr. Medhurst said in a statement.
The Caterpillar dealership reported record first-quarter revenues for its equipment group – $246-million, up 11 per cent year-over-year. It also said operating income set a first-quarter record, up 22 per cent over the same period last year on higher revenues and margins.
Toromont's CIMCO unit — which designs, engineers, makes and installs industrial and recreational refrigeration systems — posted revenues of $36 million, down 12 per cent from one year ago.
Toromont said the decline was expected given the end of the federal government's infrastructure stimulus program, which contributed to the 2011 results.