Michael J. Hoffman
Analyst · Sidoti & Company
Thank you, Renee. We expect the positive environment for turf equipment purchases to continue. Golf courses and grounds customers are in better financial shape coming into 2013. Growth will come from continued interest in our innovative offerings, as customers look to replace aging fleets. The demand for riding greens mowers is strong, and customers are telling us that our new Triplex rider is exceeding their expectations for quality of cut and versatility. The newly acquired greens roller is catching on quickly. Last fall, it was difficult to keep up with demand, but we are now in a good supply position for this product. The launch of our new lightweight fairway mower is doing exceptionally well. Customers are anxious for it to begin shipping in April, and our new Multi Pro sprayer has garnered a lot of attention at the recent Golf Industry Show. As one customer stated, "You've solved every issue I had with my current sprayer. I can't wait to get one." Courses' improved financials also hold promise for golf irrigation as clubs can now fund much-needed replacement in renovation projects. We are tracking more projects in 2013 that existed at this time last year. We also recently released version 2.1 of our unequaled Lynx Central Control System. The Lynx is simple to use, yet affords superintendents full control of their irrigation system, which enables them to improve playing conditions while saving both time and money. The Lynx, with its many recent enhancements, provides superintendents more than just a powerful course management tool, it provides them peace of mind. Like golf, several factors point to a favorable growth into environment for the landscape contractor business. Improvements in housing and the state of the economy appear to be helping fuel expansion of contractors business and their service portfolios. Contractors report plans to increase the pricing of their services that has been depressed since the recession. The positive outlook among contractors is reflected in the unexpected strength of pre-season bookings across product categories. New products, like our 30-inch commercial mowers with both Toro and Exmark brands, contributed to these strong booking results. In addition, our new aerator line has caused a great deal of excitement among channel partners and landscape contractor customers who are seeking to offer a broader range of more profitable services in the coming season. The professional grounds business may experience an uptick in activity as municipalities invest the additional tax revenues generated in 2012. Their continued efforts to increase the productivity of their grounds crews present a clear opportunity for our large rotaries. The outlook is strong for our rental and construction efforts, as these markets are expected to continue to grow this year. The launch of our new compaction, concrete and masonry equipment lines has been well-timed, for shipments of all the Toro-branded construction products will take place this quarter. Residential sales are expected to recover as the spring retail season begins. NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts an early spring with above-normal temperatures. Pre-season bookings for our popular spring product lines have been solid in all categories. In the mass channel, our new lithium-ion battery-powered handheld products are exceeding expectations. The improvement in home starts is a good sign for our residential irrigation business, too. We've continued our long streak of advanced smart watering technology introductions across our Toro and Irritrol lines. Our award-winning XTRA SMART Soil Sensor and our next-generation Evolution controller, which ships this quarter, are creating strong interests. These industry-leading innovations appeal to homeowners who value the water and money-saving benefits they provide. Prospects on the international scene remain mixed. We are cautiously optimistic about winning a number of significant golf projects in Asia, and residential spring products are faring well in Europe where our zero turn riding products momentum continues, especially in France. Around the world, the adoption of our micro-irrigation products and technology remains on the fast track, as population pressures, changing food preferences and land and water scarcity issues proliferate. We expect the market to continue double-digit growth worldwide, and our position in the industry to strengthen. We've foreshadowed in our December call, the Tier 4 transition was going to have an unusual effect on the flow of our business for the year. For example, our first quarter sales were benefited from an increase in field inventory, driven by the strong early channel demand for our pre-Tier 4 turf equipment. The increase in field inventory was planned. We continue to focus on end user retail demand and we expect field inventory levels will be normal by year end. This turf equipment, which is priced less than its Tier 4 successor, is valued in the market, and the inventory will steadily decline as the selling season unfolds and product is shipped to end users. As this happens, we expect the sales mix and corresponding gross margins to normalize as well. The anticipated impact of the Tier 4 transition to our sales and earnings has been, and continues to be reflected, in our guidance for 2013. The combination of a more stable economy, growth in the housing market and our wide array of highly competitive innovative products has created momentum, as our most critical selling season approaches. The stage is set for another successful year. We recognize that unfavorable shifts in the economy or weather could post challenges to our plans. As always, we are prepared to respond to changing conditions. But we are optimistic about both sales and earnings growth potential for the year. The company continues to expect revenue growth of about 4.5 -- 4% to 5% for fiscal 2013. Earnings expectations are being raised due to the anticipated effect of the tax rate improvement previously discussed, offset by a lessening of the earnings benefit associated with Tier 4 through the year and our investment in the pending acquisition in China. The company now expects fiscal 2013 net earnings to be about $2.40 to $2.45 per share. For the second quarter, the company expects to report net earnings per share of about $1.20. Toro has achieved a series of record-setting quarters. Thanks, in large part, to our talented employees around the world. As former CEO, David Lilly, once said, the glue that holds it all together is our people. That has been the basis for the company from the beginning. It was true when David said it then, and it's still true today. It is through to our people's commitment and hard work that the company's long, proud legacy of excellence continues as we move toward the threshold of our second century. So this concludes our formal remarks and we'll take questions at this time. So Sean, back to you --