Acuity Brands Inc. (AYI) stock prices were up by 12.18% shortly after market trading commenced on October 6th 2021. This brought the price per share up to USD$197.80 early on in the trading day.
AYI Stock’s Net Sales
October 6th 2021 saw AYI stock announce net sales for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021 in the amount of USD$992.7 million. This represents an 11.4% increase from the numbers reported for the prior year quarter. Diluted earnings per share for the 2021 quarter came in at USD$2.72, representing a 45.5% increase from the prior year quarter. Adjusted diluted earnings per share came out to USD$3.27 per share for the fourth quarter of 2021, representing a 39.1% increase from the prior year quarter.
Gross Profit Breakdown
Gross profit for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021 was reported at USD$419.3 million. This was an 11.8% increase as compared to the prior year quarter. Gross profit was 42.2% of net sales for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021, representing a 10 basis point increase from the 42.1% reported for the prior year quarter. the year over year increase was largely driven by higher material, labor, and freight costs. This adverse impact was mostly offset by the company’s ongoing product and productivity improvements, increased sales volume and benefits from recent price increases.
Operating Profit Report
Operating profit was reported by AYI stock in the amount of USD$132.8 million for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021. This represented a 25.4% increase from the numbers reported for the prior year quarter. Operating profits came out to 13.4% of net sales for Q4 2021, representing a 150 basis point increase from 11.9% for the prior year quarter. The year over year improvement was largely attributable to gross profit improvement and leverage of the company’s operating expenses.
AYI Stock’s Share Repurchase Program
The fiscal 2021 period saw AYI stock repurchase 3.8 million shares of its common stock. The gross aggregate total generated from the program was USD$434.9 million, with an average price paid of USD$114 per share. The company had roughly 3.8 million shares remaining under its most recent share purchase authorization at the end of the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021.
Future Outlook for AYI Stock
The company reported a promising quarter, consolidated by the strength of its financial reports for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021. AYI stock is poised to capitalize on the opportunities afforded to it as a result of the momentum it has generated. Current and potential investors are hopeful that management will be able to leverage the resources at its disposal. This is hoped to facilitate consistent and organic increases in shareholder value over the long term.
