Top 40 distributor Cintas (asi/162167) increased sales 7% year-over-year to $1.72 billion during the second quarter of its fiscal 2019.

Net income for the Cincinnati-based firm was up too, soaring 76.4% to $243 million for the quarter. Earnings per share from continuing operations tallied $2.18, a rise from the prior year Q2’s $1.24. Excluding certain one-time gains and losses, EPS rose 34.4% from $1.31 to $1.76.

Scott D. Farmer, CEO/Chairman, Cintas.

A lower tax rate, realized through the enactment of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, helped power the earnings spike, Cintas said. Last fiscal year the tax rate was 33.3%; this year it was 24.2%.

The earnings and revenue gains outpaced the predictions of Wall Street analysts. Market Watch reported that Cintas shares rallied late Thursday following the Q2 announcement.

Companywide, operating income rose 17.2% to $275.6 million. Gross margin accelerated 8.2% to $775.2 million, or 45.1% of revenue.

Encouraged by the results, Cintas increased its revenue guidance for the full fiscal year to a range of $6.87 billion to $6.91 billion. The prior prediction was $6.8 billion to $6.855 billion. Cintas expects EPS to fall between $7.30 and $7.38, up from the formerly forecast $7.19 to $7.29.

“The Company is on pace to achieve another year of strong growth in revenue, earnings, and cash flow generation,” said CEO/Chairman Scott D. Farmer. “I thank our employee-partners for the consistently high execution.”

Earlier this month, Cintas paid an annual dividend of $2.05 per share, an increase of 26.5% over last year’s annual dividend, Farmer said. “We have increased the annual dividend for 35 consecutive years,” he said.

With estimated 2017 North American promotional product revenue of $168.2 million, Cintas ranked 14^th on Counselor’s latest list of the largest distributors in the industry.