Sarasota manufacturer reports $10M revenue loss from hurricanes

Sarasota-based hydraulic cartridge valve manufacturer Helios Technologies estimates it lost $10 million in revenue due to the fall hurricanes and incurred about $3 million in recovery expenses. Corporate leadership shared the figures during the company’s third-quarter earnings call Nov. 6. 

“Over the course of a two-month period, we faced three hurricanes here in Florida, two within two weeks of each other, including a direct hit to Sarasota by Category 3 Hurricane Milton,” says Helios Interim President, CEO and CFO Sean Bagan.

“Operations were shut down for 18 cumulative shifts throughout these storms,” Bagan says, leading to a $10 million estimated revenue impact.

Hurricane Milton made landfall Oct. 9 on Siesta Key, about 10 miles from the Helios facilities located near the Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport. The company operates two Sun Hydraulics plants on Tallevast Road in Manatee County and one on University Parkway in Sarasota County.

Six days after Hurricane MIlton, the Manatee County locations reopened despite some trees down on the campuses. However, the University Parkway plant remained closed as contractors worked to remediate wind and water damage, Tania Almond, Helios vice president of investor relations and corporate communication, told the Business Observer in October.

“One of our three manufacturing facilities in Sarasota requires some additional repair before it is 100% operational,” Bagan says in the earnings call. 

Despite the $3 million in estimated cleanup costs from the storms, he says the company came through “relatively well” overall.

“We can count our blessings, because every member of the Helios and Sun Hydraulics team made it through without injury,” Bagan says. “All things considered, we pulled through relatively well.”

Employees at Helios-owned companies across the country sent relief supplies to their colleagues in the Sarasota area, which Bagan says showcased the team's resilience.

“Our global Helios team…has demonstrated that through adversity, we can continue to unite,” Bagan says. “There are no bounds to our potential as we continue to transform the business.”

Adjusting after storms

Given softening markets, the impact of growing distributor inventory levels and the hurricanes, Helios is updating its 2024 outlook to $800 to $805 million in total net sales. Previously the 2024 outlook had been $825 to $840 million in net sales. In 2023, Helios's net sales were $853.6 million.

In the third quarter, Helios reports net sales were $194.5 million, down 3% year-over-year and down 12% quarter-over-quarter. The company has seen growth in health and wellness, offsetting some of its declines in other areas like agriculture, and has seen an increase in business in Asia.

“While our third quarter results were within our expected range…we are judiciously updating our outlook for the remainder of the year,” Bagan says in a statement. “We remain focused on protecting our margins through operational efficiencies and disciplined cost control.”

To control costs, Bagan, during the Nov. 6 call, says the company is keeping an eye on head count and not adding incremental roles. It is also cutting back on discretionary spending like non-customer-facing travel and minimizing corporate expenses such as consultants.

That said, Helios is positioning itself for growth in 2025. Says Bagan: “We see this as temporary market headwinds that we want to be positioned really well coming out of as our markets recover.”