Feb 12 (Reuters) - Power equipment maker Generac Holdings GNRC.N reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter profit on Wednesday, on the back of increased demand for home backup generators amid higher power outages and severe weather.

Shares of the company were up 3.1% at $146.2 in premarket trading.

The Waukesha, Wisconsin-based company saw a surge in demand for its portable and standby generators, which are designed to be permanently fixed to a structure and automatically switch on during power outages, after hurricanes Helene and Milton devastated parts of the U.S.

"Power outage hours in the U.S. during the year were the highest since we began tracking the measure in 2010, while power demand expectations accelerated," Generac CEO Aaron Jagdfeld said.

Additionally, rising U.S. power consumption from AI data centers and increased electricity use for heating and transportation have strained the power grid, boosting demand for Generac's generators.

Sales in Generac's domestic segment increased 20% from a year earlier to $1.07 billion in the fourth quarter mainly due to higher shipments of home standby and portable generators following increased power outages in the second half of 2024, the company said.

It reported an adjusted profit of $2.80 per share for the quarter ended December 31, above analysts' expectations of $2.50 according to data complied by LSEG.

Fourth-quarter net sales increased 16% from a year earlier to $1.23 billion, compared with analysts' expectations of $1.24 billion.

The company said it expects sales to grow between 3% and 7% in 2025 compared with a year earlier, driven primarily by residential product sales.

(Reporting by Kannaki Deka in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)

((Kannaki.Deka@thomsonreuters.com;))