United States. The manufacturer of HVAC/R equipment, AAON, announced its results for the year 2019, in which it registered an increase in sales of 8.2% compared to 2018.
Gary Fields, President, said, "Our increase in net sales is attributable to our continued investment in new manufacturing equipment that has allowed us to capitalize on our existing workforce as well as reorganize production resources at our Tulsa facility. We are witnessing operational and financial improvements as a direct result. Combined with our increases in 2018 sales prices, the result has been record sales for the year of 2019, an increase of 8.2%, compared to $433.9 million in 2018."
Fields went on to add that "we are seeing improvements in our manufacturing capacity due to the manufacture of additional Salvagnini sheet metal machines, which came online in mid-September 2019, as evidenced by our results of record gross profit in the fourth quarter of 2019. In addition to improvements in gross profit, we continue to reduce other costs as evidenced by the decrease in warranty claims paid during the year, down 13.4% from 2018. With our high order book containing the 2018 price increases combined with our continued improvements in operating capacity and efficiency, we expect to witness improvements in our sales and earnings in 2020."
Norman H. Asbjornson, CEO, added, "With a 2020 capital expenditure budget of $73.2 million, the Company continues to make strategic investments to maintain sustainable growth going forward. These investments in operations and innovation are being made while maintaining a strong financial condition evidenced by our current 3.3:1 to 31 December 2019 ratio. In addition, we have unrestricted cash and cash equivalents of $26.8 million as of December 31, 2019, to ensure that our future investment in the company remains fiscally sound."
