Milwaukee-based Badger Meter Inc. reported record sales, record net earnings and record earnings per share for the third quarter.
The company’s net earnings grew to $9.0 million, or 63 cents per share, from $87.1 million, or 62 cents per share, in the same period a year ago.
Badger Meter’s quarterly net sales soared to $93.0 million from $87.1 million a year earlier.
“This was an excellent quarter for Badger Meter. Higher sales of residential and commercial municipal water products drove the third quarter sales increase, offset somewhat by a decrease in industrial and specialty product sales,” said Richard Meeusen, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Badger Meter. “Our third quarter results included sales to customers of Elster AMCO Water, LLC, which exited the North American mechanical water meter business as of June 30. Elster selected Badger Meter as the recommended supplier for these customers. We are pleased with our initial success in working with their former customers and are continuing to pursue additional sales opportunities.”
Meeusen noted that net earnings benefited from lower selling, engineering and administration expenses and a lower effective tax rate. Ongoing cost reduction initiatives contributed to the lower expenses. A favorable R&D tax credit reduced the company’s effective tax rate for the third quarter of 2013 to 33.5 percent, compared to 35.9 percent for the same period in 2012.
“While the second and third quarters of the year tend to be stronger than the fourth quarter due to seasonality, we are continuing to benefit from the additional Elster business and the ongoing economic recovery. We are also developing exciting new products that will enhance our product portfolio in the coming year. Overall, we believe we are well positioned for continued growth in 2014 and beyond,” Meeusen said.
