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Acuity Brands Posts $1.06 Billion Quarter as Profit Rises and Growth Shifts to Intelligent Spaces

Stronger cash generation funded a higher dividend plus buybacks.

Overview

  • Acuity Brands, which reported fiscal Q2 results Thursday, logged $1.06 billion in sales, $133 million in operating profit, and earnings of $3.09 per share with adjusted EPS of $4.14.
  • The Intelligent Spaces unit jumped 44.7% to $248.1 million as QSC and building-automation lines scaled, while the lighting unit fell 2.8% to $817.4 million on softer demand and fewer large projects.
  • Margins widened across the business, and the lighting segment took a $6 million charge tied to labor cuts and factory efficiency moves to match current demand.
  • Leaders guided lighting revenue to flat to down low single digits for the year and projected low to mid teens growth for Intelligent Spaces, citing a soft market, tight supplies of memory chips, and labor drawn to data center builds.
  • Cash flow supported an 18% dividend increase to 20 cents, $106 million in share repurchases, and $200 million of QSC-acquisition debt repayment, leaving $200 million outstanding.