Tennant Co. (NYSE: TNC) reported Q1 EPS of $0.27, $0.12 better than the analyst estimate of $0.15. Revenue for the quarter came in at $273 million versus the consensus estimate of $251.93 million.

Killingstad concluded, “We are confident that the structural and operational improvements we made in 2017 are and will continue to drive strong results in 2018, and we are pleased to increase our previously announced 2018 full year guidance ranges for sales, adjusted EPS and adjusted EBITDA. The multiple initiatives we have in place to drive growth underscore our optimism. As we look ahead, we remain committed to maintaining our robust new product and technology pipeline and accelerating our leadership in this area, successfully completing the integration of IPC, building our global market coverage, improving operating efficiency and strengthening our financial position to generate significant returns for shareholders.”

Following strong momentum and 2018 first quarter results, along with currency related tailwinds, Tennant is increasing the low and high end of the previously announced 2018 full year guidance range for sales by $10 million. The company anticipates net sales to be in the range of $1.08 billion to $1.11 billion, up 7.6 percent to 10.7 percent compared to the prior year and reflecting organic growth of 3.0 percent to 3.5 percent. Based on the anticipated higher level of sales, Tennant is increasing its anticipated range for adjusted earnings per share by $0.05 per share to a range of $1.85 to $2.05. This excludes $3.0 million to $4.0 million of special items, including IPC acquisition costs. The company expects the 2018 full year reported GAAP earnings to remain in the range of $1.70 to $1.90 per share and is increasing the anticipated adjusted EBITDA range by $2 million to a range of $113 million to $118 million.

Tennant's 2018 annual financial outlook includes the following additional assumptions:

Reasonable growth in all regions, especially strategic accounts in North America;
Gross margin performance in the range of 41.0 percent to 42.0 percent;
R&D expense in the range of 3.0 percent to 3.5 percent of sales;
Capital expenditures in the range of $25 million to $30 million; and
An effective tax rate of approximately 24 percent.

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Tennant Co. (TNC) click here.