AZZ boosts 2Q profit, raises full-year forecast

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Electrical equipment maker AZZ said Friday that second-quarter profit soared 65 percent and it boosted its forecast of full-year earnings.

AZZ also said it will expand by buying a galvanizing-services company in Canada.

The company's stock jumped $4.86, or 14 percent, to a 52-week high of $39.62 in midday trading. Volume was already more than five times the daily average.

For the fiscal year that will end next February, the company expects earnings of between $2.25 and $2.40 per share on revenue of $574 million to $600 million. The company had forecast profit of $2.05 to $2.15 per share, adjusted for a stock split in July, and revenue between $550 million and $575 million.

The consensus among three analysts surveyed by FactSet was for full-year earnings of $2.09 per share. Analysts expected revenue of $566 million.

The new forecast includes contributions from its June acquisition of Nuclear Logistics Inc. and the deal announced Friday.

AZZ inc. said it will close the purchase of Galvcast Manufacturing Inc. of Acton, Ontario, on Oct. 1. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The company said net income in the quarter ended Aug. 31 was $15.9 million, or 62 cents per share, compared with $9.6 million, or 38 cents per share, a year earlier.

Revenue rose 34 percent to $153.4 million from $114.7 million a year earlier. The company's electrical and industrial products business boosted revenue by 50 percent, while the galvanizing-services segment grew more slowly.

Analysts expected quarterly earnings of 53 cents per share on revenue of $146.1 million.

The Fort Worth company makes electrical equipment for power generation and transmission and sells galvanizing services for steel makers.