What happened

Industrial cleaning equipment maker Tennant Company (TNC 0.15%) reported fiscal first-quarter 2018 earnings this morning, sending its stock up 9.7% as of 11:25 a.m. EDT.

Tennant reported earning $0.18 per share on sales of $272.8 million, easily beating consensus expectations for earnings of $0.15 and sales of $251.9 million, and helping the company to break a string of disappointing announcements that had left its stock lagging the market.

An orange cone sitting between a yellow mop and bucket and yellow sign with the words caution and wet floor

Tennant Company cleaned up its act in Q1. Image source: Getty Images.

So what

CEO Chris Killingstad pronounced himself "very pleased" with the results, and called Q1 a "strong start to the year." Sales were up 43% year over year (6.5% of which growth was organic, with the rest coming from acquired businesses and favorable currency exchange movements). The company reported positive organic sales growth in all its regions of operation, with the Americas showing particular strength.

Now what

Looking forward, Tennant raised full-year guidance for "sales, adjusted EPS and adjusted EBITDA." Predicting organic sales growth about half as fast as what it enjoyed in Q1, Tennant said total sales this year will range from $1.08 billion to $1.11 billion, up 7.6% to 10.7% over last year.

Adjusted earnings are expected to range from $1.85 to $2.05 per share. GAAP profits guidance is unchanged at $1.70 to $1.90 per share.