Oshkosh Looks to Double Earnings by 2015

Oshkosh (NYSE:OSK) said on Friday that it expects to double earnings over the next three years as the company tightens its focus on driving value for shareholders.

The Oshkosh, Wis.-based maker of vehicles for the defense, emergency and commercial sectors sees earnings doubling at an annual growth rate of 23% to 30% by 2015 to $4 to $4.50 a share from an expected $2.05 to $2.15 a share in 2012.

Analysts in a Thomson Reuters poll are looking for earnings in the current year of $2.11 a share.

Shares of Oshkosh soared some 8.2% to $29.76 Friday.

The company has been rolling out a business strategy that will help it grow despite cuts to defense spending. In July, Oshkosh reported an increase in third-quarter earnings as sales improved.

“We are already delivering positive results as we enter the early stages of recovery from a deep cycle,” Oshkosh CEO Charles Szews said at the company's annual shareholder meeting on Friday.

The company has raised its full-year outlook twice so far this year and said it expects to continue rolling out its growth strategy, dubbed MOVE, through 2015.

MOVE is expected to “yield even stronger results by driving higher incremental margins and improved cash flows through better execution and cost management, prudent capital allocation and accessible global growth,” Szews said.