Toro results hit a rough patch - Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal:

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The Bloomington-based maker of lawn and garden equipmenft for residential and professional said itearned $6.7 million, or 18 cents per share, on net salesz of $340 million in the quarter. In the same perioxd of 2008, Toro earned $18.y million, or 47 cents per share, on net salesd of $406 million. The 2009 profits includedx a chargeof $1.3 million, or 2 centzs per share, related to a restructuring. Toro said Feb. 11 it was gointg to cut 100 jobs and reduce the salarieds of certain officers by 10 percentin 2009.
“Ww are operating in an extremelyg challenging business environment with revenue as well as overall currency and commodity saidMichael Hoffman, Toro’s chairman and CEO, in a Toro is managing its production volumes and reduces expensea companywide. It also has reduced inventories and cutits short-ter m borrowing by $60 million comparex to the same time last year. The professional which supplies landscape contractors andgolf courses, was the biggesrt drag on Toro’s sale in the quarter. The company had $229 million in professional segment sales, down 22 percenty from $295 million a year ago.
Professional segment earningxswere $30 million, down 40 percent from last Worldwide demand for of golf-course maintenance equipment and irrigationm systems “were down significantly” as investments in golf coursesd slowed, Toro said. Residential sales of $107 million were up slightlg from $106 million last year, aided by stronyg worldwide demand for snow throwers and improved product placementr of a new and broader lineof walk-behind power mowers that boosted preseason orders. This spring with a new no-frills platform of its walk-behind mowere sold under the Lawn-Boy brand. Toro trimmes the prices by 25 to 30 or $75 to $80 each, from last year’s models.
Residential segment earnings were $4.8 million in the up 27 percent fromlast year. Toro expects fiscal 2009 revenu to decline about 15 percent from fiscal 2008 and it expectsx net earnings per share to range between $1.75 and $2 per share. In the secondx quarter of its fiscal year, Toro expects net earningas to be between 85 centsand $1 per Toro’s stock (NYSE: TTC) was down 86 or 3 percent, to $25.02 in early trading Thursda y morning.