Feb 12 (Reuters) - Power equipment maker Generac

Holdings ( GNRC ) reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter

profit on Wednesday, on the back of increased demand for home

backup generators amid higher power outages and severe weather.

Shares of the company were up 3.1% at $146.2 in premarket

trading.

The Waukesha, Wisconsin-based company saw a surge in demand

for its portable and standby generators, which are designed to

be permanently fixed to a structure and automatically switch on

during power outages, after hurricanes Helene and Milton

devastated parts of the U.S.

"Power outage hours in the U.S. during the year were the

highest since we began tracking the measure in 2010, while power

demand expectations accelerated," Generac ( GNRC ) CEO Aaron Jagdfeld

said.

Additionally, rising U.S. power consumption from AI data

centers and increased electricity use for heating and

transportation have strained the power grid, boosting demand for

Generac's ( GNRC ) generators.

Sales in Generac's ( GNRC ) domestic segment increased 20% from a

year earlier to $1.07 billion in the fourth quarter mainly due

to higher shipments of home standby and portable generators

following increased power outages in the second half of 2024,

the company said.

It reported an adjusted profit of $2.80 per share for the

quarter ended December 31, above analysts' expectations of $2.50

according to data complied by LSEG.

Fourth-quarter net sales increased 16% from a year earlier

to $1.23 billion, compared with analysts' expectations of $1.24

billion.

The company said it expects sales to grow between 3% and 7%

in 2025 compared with a year earlier, driven primarily by

residential product sales.