You are given a text that consists of multiple sentences. Your task is to perform abstractive summarization on this text. Use your understanding of the content to express the main ideas and crucial details in a shorter, coherent, and natural sounding text. 
Text: We begin in fiscal 2022 by delivering solid first quarter results in what remains a very dynamic operating environment.
We achieved 6.8% top-line net sales growth for the quarter over a strong first quarter comparison last year.
Our team's intensely managed the supply chain and our manufacturing operations, working to achieve the best possible outcomes.
We actively manage production in partnership with our suppliers and aligned our manufacturing schedules based on material availability.
The supply chain challenges, along with the surge of the Omicron variant impacted our volume and mix within the quarter.
However, as the quarter progressed, we did start to see some improvements in manufacturing efficiencies.
We do expect the current supply chain dynamics to resolve over time and are beginning to see some signs of improvement.
On our last earnings call, we communicated profitability expectations for Q1 in reference to sequential improvements over Q4 of last year.
As a reminder, in Q1 of last year, we experienced an acceleration of demand without the current magnitude of inflationary pressures and product availability constraints.
With that in mind, we performed in line with our expectations by delivering sequential improvement in gross margin this quarter over Q4 of last year.
Our team executed well operationally achieving productivity benefits and increased net price realization.
Importantly, demand for our innovative products has remained robust across our businesses.
We have strengthened our market leadership by remaining steadfast in our commitment to serving our customers well.
I now like to highlight some key advances in two major areas of strategic priority.
First, we continue to bring our technology advancements to market to accelerate profitable growth over the long term.
We introduced new products in each of our key technology areas of battery-electric, smart, connected, and autonomous solutions.
Starting with batteries, we have a growing suite of electric products for both residential and professional customers.
These products are carefully designed to meet the promise of our brands by offering superior performance and durability supported by an extensive customer care network.
The latest edition is our new all-electric Ultra Buggy for material handling in our special construction business, which was unveiled at the world of the concrete show in January.
The Ultra Buggy delivers eight hours of continuous run time by leveraging the same hyper cell battery system as our Revolution series commercial-grade mowers.
Along with our e-Dingo compact utility loader, the Ultra Buggy also provides a zero-emission solution for indoor construction and renovation applications.
Speaking of the Revolution series, initial reservations for these new battery-powered commercial-grade stand-on and zero-turn riding mowers have exceeded our expectations.
The revolution product line brings together the best of both worlds with the productivity, durability, and expansion to support network to customers expect from us, along with the next-generation benefits of zero emissions, noise reduction, and all-day runtime on a single charge.
Moving to smart solutions, we just launched our new Workman UTX line of commercial-grade utility vehicles.
These all-season vehicles have a broad range of applications across our markets and feature a proprietary ground speed governing system.
This patented system allows for the perfect amounts of power for any job, no matter the desired speed.
This feature also enables lower fuel consumption and noise levels.
The UTX line was designed with versatility and durability in mind.
It offers 2,000 pounds of towing capacity, 25% more cargo capacity than the competition, and leverages our broad product offerings with an integrated BOSS snowplow amount.
Another advancement in smart solutions that drive productivity and help with skilled labor challenges is our new ProCore 648s.
This machine is the gold standard for the green generation.
It features an innovative electronic drive control, which can maintain more consistent hole spacing on sloping terrain and allows for increased speed on turnarounds.
This machine can also minimize turf disruption, reducing the need to make manual repairs.
In the area of autonomous, we have showcased several prototypes over the past few years and have invested in technology-accelerating acquisitions.
We intend to be a market leader in providing autonomous solutions, as evidenced by the introduction of our first autonomous fairway mower at the recent GCSAA golf industry show.
This product addresses the issue of labor shortages for our golf course customers while enabling increased productivity and more consistent results.
As technology evolves, we intend to leverage our battery, smart connected, and autonomous product offerings across our broad portfolio.
We are excited about the positive reactions to our new and innovative applications as we further advance our technology leadership.
The second strategic area I'd like to highlight is our effective capital allocation.
We continue to prudently deploy capital this quarter with the acquisition of the Intimidator Group in January.
This acquisition positions us to be an even stronger player in the large and rapidly growing zero trends mower market enhancing customer reach and geographic strength.
We're excited about the addition of a complementary line of Spartan mowers, which are known for their exceptional performance, features, durability, and distinctive styling.
The acquisition also provides us with a larger footprint to further leverage our technology investments as well as procurement and manufacturing efficiencies.
We are confident the combined efforts of our teams will enhance our long-term growth by providing unparalleled products, technologies, and services to our customers.
We made great strides in advancing key strategic areas this quarter, our entire organization continued to demonstrate creativity, perseverance, and sound judgment as we navigated the challenges and opportunities in the current global environment.
As a result, we continue to build our business for sustainable and profitable long-term growth and drove value for all stakeholders.
As Rick said, we delivered solid results in the first quarter and drove sequential gross margin improvement over Q4 of last year in what continues to be an extremely dynamic operating environment.
We grew overall consolidated net sales to $932.7 million, an increase of 6.8% compared to the first quarter of last year.
Reported and adjusted earnings per share were about $0.66 per diluted share, down from $1.02 and $0.85, respectively in the first quarter a year ago.
Professional segment net sales for the quarter were up 3.5% to $672.9 million.
This increase was driven by net price realization partially offset by lower volume in certain key product categories, due to product availability constraints.
Professional segment earnings for the first quarter were $93.3 million and one expressed as a percent of net sales 13.9%.
This was down from 18% in the first quarter last year.
The year-over-year decrease was primarily due to higher material, freight, and manufacturing costs, partially offset by net price realization.
Residential segment net sales for the first quarter were $255.4 million, up 17.3% over last year.
The growth was primarily driven by increased net price realization and higher shipments of our zero-turn riding and walk power mowers.
Residential segment earnings for the quarter were $31.8 million, and when expressed as a percent of net sales 12.4%.
This was down from 14.7% in the first quarter last year.
The year-over-year decrease was primarily driven by higher material and freight costs partially offset by increased net price realization and productivity improvements.
Turning to our operating results.
We reported a gross margin of 32.2% for the quarter, compared to 36.1% in the same period last year.
The year-over-year decrease was primarily due to higher material and freight costs, partially offset by an increased net price realization.
As expected, we did see a sequential improvement compared to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021.
We intend to restore and improve margins over the long term and continue to adjust pricing to market conditions and drive productivity and synergy benefits.
SG&A expense as a percent of net sales for the quarter was 22.4%, compared to 19.9% in the same period last year.
This increase was primarily driven by the favorable impact of a one-time legal settlement in the prior year that did not reoccur, as well as increased investment in research, engineering, and marketing.
Operating earnings as a percent of net sales for the first quarter were 9.8%, compared to 16.2% in the same period last year.
Adjusted operating earnings as a percent of net sales for the quarter were 9.9%, compared to 14.2% in the same period a year ago.
Interest expense for the quarter was $7 million down slightly from the same period last year.
This was due to lower average debt levels and decreased interest rates.
The reported adjusted effective tax rates for the first quarter were 20.2% and 20.9%, respectively, compared to 18.1% and 21.5% in the same period a year ago.
Turning to our balance sheet and cash flows.
Accounts receivable were $366 million, up 19% from a year ago, primarily driven by higher sales and customer mix.
Inventory was $832 million, up 23% compared to last year.
This increase was due to higher work in process and parts.
Accounts payable increased 30% from last year to $474 million.
This was primarily driven by higher purchase activity and inflation.
Free cash flow in the quarter was a $102 million use of cash.
This was driven by additional working capital needs to support higher material and service parts levels, given the current supply chain environment.
We continue to follow a disciplined approach to capital allocation demonstrated by our actions in the quarter and fueled by our strong balance sheet.
Our priorities remain the same and include making strategic investments in our business to support long-term growth, both organically and through acquisitions, returning cash to shareholders through dividends, and share repurchases, and maintaining a levered school to support financial flexibility.
These priorities are highlighted by our actions including our plan to deploy $150 million to $175 million in capital expenditures this year to fund capacity, productivity, and new product investments.
In our acquisition of Intimidator Group in January, our return of $106 million to shareholders this quarter was 75 million in share repurchases and 31 million in regular dividends.
Our gross leverage to EBITDA target remains the same in the range of 1 to 2 times.
We are benefiting from strong demand momentum across our diverse portfolio of businesses.
In the current global operating environment, our biggest challenge remains meeting this heightened demand.
Based on our current visibility, the progress we are making on margin recovery, and the recent acquisition of Intimidator Group, we are updating our full year fiscal 2022 guidance.
This guidance also considers the current geopolitical events which continue to develop.
We will monitor the situation very closely and take appropriate actions.
We now expect net sales growth in the range of 12% to 14%, which reflects the partial year addition of the Intimidator Group, pro-rata over the remaining three quarters.
Along with the continued expectation for 8% to 10% growth for the remainder of our business.
The acquired business is reported under the professional segment, and as a result, we expect professional net sales growth at the upper end of the 12% to 14% range for the full year.
For the second quarter, we anticipate total company as well as professional and residential segment net sales growth to be moderately below our full year expectations.
We continue to expect our quarterly sales cadence to be driven more by our ability to produce than historical demand patterns.
This is expected to result in less seasonal variation than typical between the quarters this year.
Looking at profitability for the full year, we now expect similar overall adjusted operating earnings as a percent of net sales compared to fiscal 2021 for the total company.
And in the professional and residential segments.
This reflects the operational improvements we are realizing as well as our acquisition.
With the addition of Intimidator at a lower initial gross margin relative to our company average, we now expect gross margin in Q2 to be similar to Q1 but improve in the second half of the year compared to the first half of the year.
For the full year, we expect the gross margin to be similar to slightly below fiscal 2021 driven by the acquisition.
In light of the recent geopolitical events, we are holding our full year-adjusted diluted earnings per share guidance in the range of $3.90 to $4.10.
Our adjusted diluted earnings per share guidance excludes the benefit of the excess tax deduction for stock compensation, as well as one-time acquisition-related costs.
For the second quarter, we expect our adjusted diluted earnings per share to approach the record results we achieved in Q2 of fiscal 2021.
Additionally, for the full year with the acquisition included, we now expect interest expense to be about $35 million.
Depreciation and amortization to be about $120 million and free cash flow conversion in the range of 80% to 90% of reported net earnings.
We continue to estimate an adjusted effective tax rate of about 21%.
We remain well-positioned to capitalize on this period of profitable growth as we continue to execute on our long-term strategic priorities.
Our entire team remains sharply focused on serving our customers as we are committed to building our business for long-term sustainability and profitability.
The foundation for our future success is our world-class innovation capabilities and enterprisewide operational excellence.
The combination of which we believe will drive sales momentum and margin expansion going forward and create value for all stakeholders.
As we head into the remainder of fiscal 2022 demand remains strong across the markets we serve, the ongoing replacement cycles for our products provide a steady foundation and we are keeping an eye on the following areas, consumer and business confidence, together with inflation, geopolitical developments, and COVID-19 variants, customer prioritization of investments to maintain and improve outdoor environments, regulations, on reduced emissions, and customer preference for sustainable products, the continuation of strong momentum in golf markets and government support and funding of infrastructure projects, including the $1 trillion US infrastructure legislation.
Our innovative products and best-in-class distribution networks position us well to capitalize on current and future demand trends in the growing markets we serve.
I would now like, sure, a few comments on our golf market.
We continue to see courses in their healthiest financial positions in years.
Around the world, golf participation engagement remains on the rise.
In the Us golf rounds played were up 5.5% in 2021.
On top of a 13.9% increase in 2020.
We're also seeing an improvement in supply and demand balance and even saw an increase in the number of municipal and private courses in the US during 2021.
As the market leader in turf and irrigation solutions and the only provider of both, we have distinct competitive advantages in the space.
This was evident last month at the GCSAA golf industry show in San Diego.
The traffic in our booth reflected strong interest in our array of innovative new products.
It was a great experience to be at the show again after the pandemic-driven hiatus spend time with so many of our customers.
Not far from the golf show was Super Bowl 56 SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
Our teams and equipment have a long and storied history of helping Super Bowl groundskeepers maintain pristine field conditions, and this year was no exception.
Before and after the game, our Workman GTX and UTX vehicles were used to help the SOFi grounds crew move field preparation materials.
In addition, our GTX vehicles and real master products were instrumental in preparing the Bengals UCLA practice fields.
Our commitment to innovation has served us well.
Our strength in this area, combined with our deep customer relationships, effective capital deployment, superior distribution, and customer care networks has driven consistent financial performance.
We believe these strengths will continue to generate tremendous value and position us to deliver compelling growth and shareholder returns for the long term.
As always, our extended team is the key to the Toro Company's long-term success.

user
compname reports q1 adjusted earnings per share of $0.66.
q1 earnings per share $0.66.
q1 sales rose 6.8 percent to $932.7 million.
q1 adjusted earnings per share $0.66.
now expects fiscal 2022 total net sales growth in range of 12% to 14%.
company is holding its fiscal 2022 adjusted earnings per share guidance in range of $3.90 to $4.10 per diluted share.

assistant