Columbus McKinnon Raises FY2027 Outlook as Kito Crosby Drives Q2 Growth

Columbus McKinnon Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCO) raised its fiscal 2027 sales, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted earnings guidance after the Kito Crosby acquisition helped more than double second-quarter revenue and expanded adjusted margins. The industrial motion company nevertheless reported a GAAP net loss, reflecting higher interest expense and acquisition-related costs.

For the second quarter of fiscal 2027, net sales rose 107% year over year to $539.3 million. Kito Crosby, acquired on February 3, 2026, contributed $300.2 million, while the required divestiture of certain U.S. power chain hoist and chain manufacturing operations reduced sales by $33.9 million. Legacy Columbus McKinnon sales increased 5%, supported by pricing and volume, with project businesses including Automation and Linear Motion leading growth. Sales increased across all geographies.

The company recorded a net loss attributable to Columbus McKinnon of $25.5 million, compared with net income of $4.6 million a year earlier. The loss amounted to $0.76 per diluted share, versus earnings of $0.16 per share in the prior-year quarter. Results included $7 million of non-cash acquisition inventory step-up expense and $12 million of integration-related costs, as well as increased interest expense.

Adjusted EBITDA rose to $111.2 million from $40.2 million, and the adjusted EBITDA margin expanded to 20.6% from 15.4%. The increase reflected the net contribution from the acquisition and divestiture, pricing, sales volume and cost synergies, partly offset by cost-of-goods inflation and higher incentive compensation.

Adjusted net income increased to $31.1 million from $17.9 million as higher operating profit outweighed part of the impact from increased interest expense. Adjusted earnings per share edged down to $0.61 from $0.62 because the higher adjusted profit was offset by a larger share count, including 21.8 million common shares issuable upon conversion of preferred shares.

Orders and integration

Second-quarter orders reached $562.6 million, up 122% on a reported basis and 13% on a pro forma basis, with a book-to-bill ratio of 1.0. Kito Crosby added $307 million of orders. Legacy Columbus McKinnon benefited from project activity, continued strength in its Lifting portfolio and traction in Automation, while management also cited strong quotation activity and a healthy demand funnel.

Backlog increased 58% year over year to $556.2 million, including $220 million from Kito Crosby. Of the total, $291.3 million was expected to ship in the third quarter, while $264.9 million was classified as longer-term backlog expected to ship beyond three months.

Columbus McKinnon said the Kito Crosby integration remained on track and that synergy realization was ahead of plan. Integration work includes aligning teams and incentives, unifying data and performance metrics, harmonizing products, processes and systems, and integrating the customer experience. During the first half, the company reported approximately 610 basis points of adjusted EBITDA margin expansion and a 0.2-turn improvement in its net leverage ratio.

Cash flow, liquidity and outlook

Net cash provided by operating activities totaled $21.1 million for the first half, while free cash flow was $4.6 million, improving from negative $6.3 million a year earlier. First-half cash flow included $23 million of acquisition-related payments for deal and integration costs. The company said working-capital investment made to support sales growth is expected to increasingly convert to cash during the second half.

The credit-agreement net leverage ratio was 4.9 times, down 0.2 times from the start of the fiscal year. Total liquidity stood at $532 million, comprising $421 million of revolving-credit availability and $111 million of cash and cash equivalents.

Columbus McKinnon now expects fiscal 2027 net sales of $2.13 billion to $2.17 billion, compared with its previous range of $2.09 billion to $2.15 billion. Adjusted EBITDA is projected at $425 million to $440 million, up from the prior outlook of $405 million to $420 million, while adjusted EPS is expected to be $2.00 to $2.15, compared with $1.90 to $2.10 previously.

The outlook assumes interest expense of $185 million to $190 million, amortization expense of $130 million to $135 million, depreciation of $80 million to $85 million and capital spending of $45 million to $55 million. It also assumes a 25% normalized effective tax rate and 52 million adjusted diluted shares outstanding. The company did not provide GAAP reconciliations for its adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EPS guidance because of uncertainty surrounding future reconciling items.

Key uncertainties include the cost and complexity of integrating Kito Crosby, the timing and realization of targeted synergies, and the company’s ability to reduce leverage and expand margins. Columbus McKinnon also identified competitive conditions and broader economic, political and market factors as risks that could cause results to differ from its outlook.