“Watsco delivered another solid quarter of performance driven by sales growth, higher selling margins and improved operating efficiencies," said Albert Nahmad, president and CEO of Watsco Inc. "We experienced healthy demand for residential products in the United States, which grew 13 percent, from strong unit growth and a better sales mix of high efficiency systems. We are off to a strong start and believe 2014 will be a record year for our company.”

HVAC equipment sales accounted for 62 percent of sales, an increase of 8 percent according to Watsco. Non-equipment HVAC products, increasing 5 percent, were 33 percent of sales. Commercial refrigeration product sales increased 2 percent and accounted for 5 percent of sales.

The company also announced that its board of directors has approved a 50 percent increase in its annual dividend to $2.40 per share.

"We are pleased to increase Watsco’s dividend to an annual rate of $2.40 per share beginning in July, well ahead of schedule," explained Nahmad. "As evidenced by our long-term track record, we have great confidence in our business to produce both meaningful earnings growth and cash flow that exceeds net income. It is always our intention to share cash flow through increasing dividends. Having said that, we also want to retain the ability to invest in our network and additional opportunities that may come our way.”

For more information, visit www.watsco.com.