Good weather is bad news for Briggs

Article Excerpt

BRIGGS & STRATTON CORP. $16 (New York symbol BGG; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 42.3 million; Market cap: $676.8 million; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.4; Dividend yield: 3.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www. briggsandstratton.com) makes lawn-mower engines, portable power generators, pressure washers, and snowblowers and throwers. For the first quarter, ended September 30, 2018, sales fell 15.2%, to $279.0 million from $329.1 million a year earlier. That’s because fewer storms in the latest quarter hurt demand for portable power generators. Warm and dry conditions in Australia also cut sales of lawn mowers. Due to the seasonal nature of its products, the company typically loses money in its first quarter. Even so, those losses (before unusual items) worsened to $0.51 a share from $0.27 a year earlier. That reflects fewer sales of higher-margin replacement parts. Briggs & Stratton is still a hold. hold…