Toro 2014 Annual Report Download - page 3

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Fiscal 2014 was a remarkable year for The Toro
Company. We celebrated our first 100 years in business
and launched our next century. We delivered record-
setting results for the year and successfully completed
our multi-year Destination 2014 journey. Also, late in
fiscal 2014 we entered into an agreement on our largest
acquisition to date, the BOSS™ professional snow and ice
management business, and started o our new fiscal
year by closing the transaction.
Our team’s dedication and execution throughout the year
enabled us to deliver record revenues, operating
earnings, net earnings and earnings per share for fiscal
2014. We increased net sales by 6.4 percent to $2.173
billion, expanded operating earnings to $263.2 million
and 12.1 percent of net sales, and delivered net earnings
of $173.9 million or $3.02 per share. In addition, we
continued to return value to our shareholders by
increasing our regular quarterly dividend and
repurchasing more than 1.6 million shares of our
common stock.
I’m proud of each member of our organization; they
committed to and drove the achievement of the
Destination 2014 revenue and profitability goals. When
we launched this employee initiative back in fiscal 2011,
it was our goal to achieve $100 million in organic sales
growth each of the four years and 12 percent or better in
operating earnings by the end of fiscal 2014. Our organic
sales increased by a total of more than $430 million over
the initiative and, as noted above, our operating earnings
were 12.1 percent as of the end of fiscal 2014. I’m deeply
appreciative of the eorts of all of our employees around
the world who helped to make Destination 2014 a
successful quest, but not our ultimate destination.
End markets
The company’s fiscal 2014 performance was solid
across our professional and residential businesses
and we successfully drove share gains in many product
categories. In the domestic golf market, the late arrival
of spring again this year caused rounds played to be
down early, but favorable summer and fall conditions
increased play and helped to grow overall course
revenues. On the international scene, new golf course
development continued to progress in key markets
with customers favoring our irrigation and equipment
oerings. Sustained product innovation and
performance, and the strength of our distribution
channel, will be critical factors in helping us grow
our worldwide golf leadership position in fiscal 2015
and beyond.
Our landscape and grounds businesses capitalized on
the strong retail demand that we experienced much of
the year. Additional investments in turf equipment by
landscape contractors who benefited from the robust
snow season last winter helped to drive early sales.
To our valued shareholders,
Michael J. Homan,
Chairman and CEO