Columbus McKinnon Raises Guidance Weeks After Reaffirming It
Net sales more than doubled to $531.5 million as the Kito Crosby acquisition reshaped the industrial-equipment maker's scale, prompting Columbus McKinnon to raise fiscal 2027 guidance just weeks after holding it steady.
Columbus McKinnon (CMCO), the industrial motion-control and lifting-equipment maker, reported net sales of $531.5 million, up 125% from a year earlier, as its February 3 acquisition of Kito Crosby reset the company's scale. Orders of $568.1 million rose 120%, producing a book-to-bill ratio of 1.1x.
The timing of the guidance revision underscored how quickly the deal changed the company's trajectory. Columbus McKinnon had reaffirmed its fiscal 2027 outlook unchanged as recently as July 1, 2026, only to raise it four weeks later. The company now guides to net sales of $2.09 billion to $2.15 billion, up from $2.05 billion to $2.12 billion; Adjusted EBITDA of $405 million to $420 million, up from $390 million to $410 million; and Adjusted EPS of $1.90 to $2.10, up from $1.70 to $1.90.
Beneath the acquisition-driven headline, the legacy business also grew. Legacy CMCO organic net sales rose 12.7% year-over-year, with both pricing and volume contributing and growth recorded across all regions. The combined entity's geographic mix shifted as a result of the deal: non-U.S. sales rose to 45% of the total from 43% a year earlier, diluting a business that had historically skewed toward the U.S. market at 57%.
Margins told two different stories depending on the measure. Reported gross margin compressed 520 basis points to 27.5% from 32.7%, weighed down by a $55.2 million acquisition-related inventory step-up expense. On an adjusted basis, gross margin expanded 380 basis points to 38.1% from 34.3%, and Adjusted EBITDA margin expanded 720 basis points to 21.0% from 13.8%, with Adjusted EBITDA up 242% to $111.5 million from $32.6 million.
The GAAP results absorbed the full cost of integrating Kito Crosby. Operating income swung to a loss of $17.7 million, a margin of negative 3.3%, from operating income of $5.5 million a year earlier, as SG&A and intangible amortization grew faster than sales. Columbus McKinnon posted a GAAP net loss of $88.7 million, or $2.05 a share, compared with a $1.9 million loss a year earlier, driven by $70.3 million of acquisition and integration-related expenses that included the inventory step-up and $34.8 million of intangible amortization, up from $7.6 million. The quarter also included a newly disclosed $200.0 million partial goodwill impairment on the Precision Conveyance reporting unit, reflecting a sustained decline in the company's stock price and market capitalization relative to book value.
Adjusted Net Income rose 114% to $30.5 million, but Adjusted EPS grew a slower 22% to $0.61 a share, as Adjusted Diluted Shares Outstanding climbed to 50.4 million from 28.8 million on the conversion effect of preferred shares issued to fund the deal.
Cash generation turned a corner alongside the earnings swing. Cash flow from operations turned positive at $25.6 million, compared with a use of $18.2 million a year earlier, and Free Cash Flow Excluding Deal Costs was $32.4 million versus negative $17.3 million a year earlier. The company's Credit Agreement Net Leverage Ratio improved to 4.9x from 5.1x at March 31, 2026, marking continued de-leveraging since the acquisition closed.
The results were the first reported under new CFO John R. Linker, who succeeded Gregory P. Rustowicz effective July 1, 2026.