Earnings per share

3 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2017

Basic earnings per share is based on the average number of common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted earnings per share is based on the average number of shares used for the basic earnings per share calculation, adjusted for the dilutive effect of restricted stock equivalents and performance share awards.

The following table sets forth the computation of basic and diluted earnings per share for the quarters ended December 31, 2017 and 2016:



(in millions, except per share data)
	For the Quarter Ended December 31,
	2017		2016
Net earnings	$	60.4	$	95.6
Basic average shares outstanding	60.2		61.8
Effect of dilutive restricted stock equivalents	0.4		0.6
Effect of dilutive performance shares	0.9		0.5
Diluted average shares outstanding	61.5		62.9
Basic earnings per common share	$	1.00	$	1.55
Diluted earnings per common share	$	0.98	$	1.52

For the quarters ended December 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, all restricted stock equivalents and performance shares were dilutive and included in the diluted net earnings per share calculations.