By Steven Porter

The strong U.S. dollar, soft energy market and weak demand are keeping hydraulic tools manufacturer Actuant Corp. under pressure.

The company reported a net loss of $159.2 million, or $2.70 per diluted share, for second-quarter ended Feb. 29. That’s a much deeper deficit than the same period a year prior, when it reported a loss of $64.8 million, or $1.05 per share.

But on an adjusted earnings basis, which excludes substantial one-time expenses in both quarters due to asset impairment and restructuring costs, Actuant had profit of 21 cents per diluted share, compared to 28 cents profit a year prior.

That outperformed analyst expectations of 18 cents per share, according to Yahoo! Finance.

Revenues, meanwhile, fell to $263.3 million, down 12.5 percent from $301.0 million a year prior.

Historical share closing price

[field name=”chart”]

“Our second quarter results were impacted by normal seasonality and continued weak demand across a number of end markets,” said Randal Baker, president and CEO of the Wisconsin-based manufacturer with engineered solutions, industrial and energy segments.

Projecting per-share earnings of $1.25 to $1.35 for the year as a whole, Baker assured investors that Actuant has a plan moving forward.

“While we expect demand in most of our end markets to remain challenging for the balance of calendar 2016, we will continue to focus on continuous improvement initiatives, tightly manage costs and invest in growth opportunities, all of which will drive shareholder returns,” Baker said.

In New York Stock Exchange trading Wednesday, Actuant shares rose 35 cents to close up 1.5 percent at $23.33.

On a year-to-date basis, Actuant has reported a net loss of $143.7 million, or $2.43 per diluted share, significantly worse than its loss of $40.2 million, or 64 cents per share, the same period a year prior.

Revenues, meanwhile, fell to $568.3 million, down 9.6 percent from $628.8 million a year prior.