HVAC distributor Watsco Inc. (NYSE: WSO), Miami, FL, reported sales for 2016 of $4.2 billion, an increase of 2.6 percent from the previous year. Profit increased 5.7 percent to $182.8 million.
2016 sales for HVAC equipment were up 3 percent year-over-year, including 4 percent in the U.S. Other HVAC products sales increased 1 percent and commercial refrigeration products sales increased 6 percent.
Sales for the fourth quarter were $913.3 million, a 1.1 percent increase over the same period a year ago. Profit increased 11.6 percent to $29.6 million.
Fourth-quarter sales for HVAC equipment increased 2 percent, including 3 percent in the U.S. Other HVAC products sales decreased 1 percent, and commercial refrigeration products increased 3 percent.
Watsco also announced that it has paid $43 million for an additional ownership interest in Carrier Enterprise Northeast LLC, a joint venture with Carrier Corp. Watsco's controlling interest in the joint venture, formed in 2011, is now 80 percent. Carrier Enterprise Northeast had sales in 2016 of approximately $500 million from 41 locations in the northeastern U.S. and 12 locations in Mexico.
