Minnesota companies are showing more confidence in an economic recovery and in their own outlooks for the remainder of 2021.
This week, Vista Outdoor and Tennant Co. were the latest to report stronger quarterly results and add guidance for at least the next quarter.
Last year, nearly every company was pulling its guidance for the remainder of 2020. But now that the greatest uncertainty of the pandemic has passed and companies have seen sequential improvement in quarterly results, most are providing numbers again — and analysts are expecting it.
Even though comparisons for the rest of year are going to be against quarters that were deeply impacted by the pandemic's emergence and spread last year, companies have now had several quarters to adjust and reset expectations.
For the fourth quarter ended March 31, Anoka-based Vista Outdoor reported a 40% in sales, contributing to annual revenue that eclipsed $2.2 billion. The company had its most profitable year ever.
The strong year was "a result of our successful multi-year effort to strengthen our operations and improve profitability," said CEO Chris Metz in a news release.
Vista benefited from an increase in interest in outdoor sports during the pandemic. In the fourth quarter, sales from its shooting sports segment increased 37%, partly because of the acquisitions of Remington and Hevi-Shot ammunition companies. Its outdoor products segment reported a 47% increase in revenue.
While Vista offered guidance for the first quarter — revenue of $600 million to $620 million, up from $479 million last year — it did not offer full-year guidance still citing pandemic uncertainties. Sudhanshu Priyadarshi, the company's chief financial officer, told analysts on a call that the company expects results to moderate in the second half of the fiscal year due to higher comparisons.
Eden Prairie-based Tennant Co., the maker of commercial and industrial floor cleaning equipment and supplies, saw first quarter revenue increase 3.1% to $263.3 million and net income more than quadruple to $25.7 million, or $1.37 a share. The results handily beat Wall Street expectations.
President and CEO Dave Huml said the company still hasn't reached pre-pandemic levels of sales, but he's optimistic for the remainder of the year.
"While we continue to navigate through existing market conditions, we are encouraged by our outperformance in the first quarter of 2021. We are optimistic that this represents the beginning of a market recovery," Huml said in a news release.
Tennant raised guidance for the remainder of the year saying net sales for 2021 will be between $1.09 billion and $1.11 billion for organic sales growth of 9% to 11%. Adjusted earnings is now expected to be in the range of $4.10 to $4.50 per diluted share.
