A. O. Smith posts quarterly profit beat on resilient water heater demand

(Reuters) - Water heater maker A. O. Smith reported a better-than-expected first-quarter profit on Thursday, aided by price hikes and resilient demand for its water heaters and treatment products in North America.

The Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based company has also benefited from growing demand for its energy-efficient boilers as commercial buildings look to improve their carbon footprints.

Adjusted profit for the first quarter was $1 per share, compared with 94 cents per share a year earlier. Analysts on average had estimated 98 cents per share, according to LSEG data.

Sales in North America, which accounted for 75% of its total sales in 2023, rose 2,% to $766.3 million.

Rest of the world total sales, which includes China and India, rose 4%, to $226.9 million.

"We achieved sales growth of 6% in China despite the ongoing macroeconomic challenges in that country, as our recently released kitchen products continue to be well received in the market," said CEO Kevin J. Wheeler.

Total quarterly sales came in at $978.8 million, up 1% from a year ago.

The company reaffirmed its earlier forecast for full-year profit between $3.90 and $4.15 per share.

(Reporting by Kannaki Deka and Aishwarya Jain in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai)