Acuity Brands beats on profit but second-quarter sales fall short of estimates

By Ciara Linnane

Lighting company's better-than-expected adjusted profit weights against sales miss

Acuity Brands Inc.'s stock fell 1.6% early Wednesday, after the lighting and lighting-controls company reported fiscal-second-quarter sales

Atlanta-based Acuity (AYI) posted net income of $89.2 million, or $2.84 a share, for the quarter to Feb. 29, up from $83.2 million, or $2.57 a share, in the year-earlier period. Adjusted to remove one-time items, per-share earnings came to $3.38, ahead of the $3.17 FactSet consensus.

Sales fell to $905.9 million from $943.6 million a year ago and were below the $908.0 million FactSet consensus.

At the company's lighting and lighting controls segment, sales fell 5.3% to $843.5 million. Sales at the intelligent-spaces group, which offers products to make buildings greener, rose 17% to $68.1 million.

The company said net cash from operating systems came to $292.6 million for the first half of fiscal 2024, down by $13.8 million from the year-ago period.

The stock has gained 42% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 SPX has gained 26%.

-Ciara Linnane

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04-03-24 0726ET

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