Earnings per share

3 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

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, performance share awards and deferred compensation equity plans.

The following table sets forth the computation of basic and diluted earnings per share for the quarters ended December 31, 2018 and 2017:



(in millions, except per share data)
	For the Quarter Ended December 31,
	2018		2017
Net earnings	$	70.8	$	60.4
Basic average shares outstanding	59.7		60.2
Effect of dilutive restricted stock equivalents	0.4		0.4
Effect of dilutive performance shares	0.7		0.9
Effect of stock based deferred compensation plan	0.2		—
Diluted average shares outstanding	61.0		61.5
Basic earnings per common share	$	1.19	$	1.00
Diluted earnings per common share	$	1.16	$	0.98

For the quarter ended December 31, 2018, 0.1 million restricted stock equivalents were anti-dilutive and not included in the diluted net earnings per share calculations. For the quarter ended December 31, 2017, all restricted stock equivalents were dilutive and included in the diluted net earnings per share calculations.