Though Sales Lag, Acuity Delivers Promised Margin Improvements
Industrial lighting and controls manufacturer Acuity Brands (NYSE: AYI) reported results from its fiscal 2019 fourth quarter on Wednesday morning, and shareholders promptly registered their disappointment at mixed results: Shares traded down as much as 12% at midday. Below, we'll review the last three months and uncover the rationale for investor disappointment with Acuity's latest batch of financial statements.
Data source: Acuity Brands.
The organization's 11.6% sales decrease was due to a 16% drop in volume, marginally offset by roughly 5% in improved product mix and pricing. Followers of Acuity will remember that the company warned last quarter that it expected sales "to be down modestly" against the fiscal fourth quarter of 2018. This expectation was due to strong sales in the prior-year period, as a significant new retail customer stocked stores with Acuity's products, setting up a difficult current-year comparison.
Source Fool.com
