Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) reported third-quarter results on Tuesday that surpassed expectations, prompting the company to lift its full-year forecast. The distributor of plumbing and heating products saw its shares climb 6.15% in pre-market trading after the announcement.
For the quarter ending April 30, Ferguson delivered adjusted earnings per share of $2.50, outperforming analyst predictions of $2.61. Revenue increased 4.3% year-over-year to $7.6 billion, slightly missing the consensus estimate of $7.79 billion.
The company’s U.S. segment, which represents the majority of its sales, recorded a 5% organic revenue increase during the quarter. This growth was fueled by robust activity in non-residential construction, where revenue advanced by roughly 7%.
“Our associates continued to take care of our customers, outperform the market and drive solid growth in the third quarter,” said CEO Kevin Murphy. “The combination of strong volume growth, gross margin actions, moderating deflation and the early benefits of streamlining our business drove adjusted operating profit growth and adjusted operating margin expansion.”
Following the strong quarterly performance, Ferguson raised its full-year guidance, now anticipating low to mid-single digit revenue growth compared to its previous forecast of low single-digit gains. The company also boosted its adjusted operating margin outlook to a range of 8.5% to 9.0%, up from the prior 8.3% to 8.8% projection.