09:12 AM EDT, 04/03/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Acuity's (AYI) fiscal second-quarter results rose year over year, with earnings topping market expectations but sales coming in below Wall Street estimates.

The provider of lighting and building management solutions on Thursday posted adjusted earnings of $3.73 a share for the quarter ended February, up from $3.38 the year before. The consensus on FactSet was for non-GAAP EPS of $3.69. Sales inclined 11% year over year to $1.01 billion, but fell short of the Street's view for $1.03 billion.

Shares of the company were down nearly 2% in premarket activity.

"We delivered steady performance in the second quarter of fiscal 2025," Chief Executive Neil Ashe said during an earnings call, according to a FactSet transcript. "We are positioned for long-term growth and to create stakeholder value and compound shareholder wealth."

Acuity took pricing actions across the company in response to duties that were in place through the end of March, Ashe said on the call. The company aims to continue taking "necessary" pricing actions as the tariff policy evolves and will work to accelerate its productivity efforts, the CEO told analysts.

On Wednesday US President Donald Trump announced sweeping new tariffs on the country's trading partners, including China, the European Union and Japan.

"We approach tariffs as the equivalent of a supply shock, and our financial priorities are first to manage the dollar impact," according to Ashe. "And second, to manage the margin impact."

Revenue in the brands lighting segment edged down 0.3% to $840.6 million in the second quarter, mainly due to declines in retail and corporate accounts amid general uncertainty in the wider market, Chief Financial Officer Karen Holcom said on the call. "This was partially offset by growth in both our independent sales channel and direct sales channel," according to Holcom.

Sales in the intelligent spaces business surged 152% to $171.5 million. Audio, video and control products company QSC contributed $95.1 million in sales to the segment. Acuity completed its QSC acquisition in January.

Adjusted operating profit as a percent of net sales rose 70 basis points to 16.2% during the quarter, buoyed in part by the inclusion of QSC results, Holcom said. Selling, distribution and administrative expenses rose to $357.8 million from $294.3 million in the prior-year period.