Good morning, everyone. Welcome to the 2018 Annual Meeting of the Shareholders of Oshkosh Corporation. I'm Craig Omtvedt, Director and Chairman of the Board. We'll begin with the official business of the meeting as outlined in our proxy statement. After we adjourn the formal meeting, we'll receive a brief business update from both Dave Sagehorn, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, and John Bryant, President of the Defense Segment. As you'll hear from Mr. Sagehorn, fiscal 2017 was a tremendous year. The company celebrated its 100th anniversary, and we delivered excellent results for the shareholders. I must say I'm truly honored to serve as Chairman of the Board. This meeting is now called to order. First, a few introductions. Along with the company's executive officers, joining me today are the other directors of Oshkosh Corporation.
I would like each of you to stand after I introduce you, and I want to thank you both personally on behalf of the shareholders for your support and service. First, Keith Allman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Masco Corporation. Peter Hamilton, retired Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Brunswick Corporation. Wilson Jones, our President and Chief Executive Officer of Oshkosh Corporation. We have Leslie Kenne, who is with us, but she's been called to other activities at the moment. She'll be with us on our conference call later today. Kimberly Metcalf-Kupres, retired Chief Marketing Officer of Johnson Controls PLC. Steve Mizell, Executive Vice President, Human Resources of Monsanto Company. Duncan Palmer, Global Chief Financial Officer of Cushman & Wakefield. John Shiely, Retired Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Briggs & Stratton Corporation. And Scott Wallace, Retired Commanding General of the U.S.
Army Training and Doctrine Command. And finally, Steve Newlin, Chair and Chief Executive Officer of Univar Inc. Well, Steve is not able to be here in person. He is joining us via the webcast. Sitting next to me is Ignacio Cortina, Executive Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary of the company. Also here today are James Stewart and Eric Koehl of Deloitte & Touche, the company's independent public accountants. Now to the meeting agenda. We are holding this meeting for the purposes stated in the notice of the annual meeting. Ignacio, please introduce the formal portion of the meeting.
Thank you, Craig. This 2018 annual meeting of shareholders is convened in accordance with the notice and proxy statement first distributed on December 21st, 2017, to the shareholders of record as of December 11th. We have appointed Gary Farrar as our Independent Inspector of Elections for today's meeting, and he is present today. Mr. Farrar has informed me that at least 92% of the stock of Oshkosh of record as of December 11 is represented at this meeting either in person or by proxy. This means that a quorum is present and the legal requirements to proceed with this meeting have been met. The polls are now open and will remain open until we officially close them later in the meeting.
If you are a shareholder of record and wish to vote your shares in person, you may obtain a ballot now from the Inspector of Elections table in the back of the room. If anyone is voting on the authority of a legal proxy, please note that fact on the ballot. You should give both the proxy and the ballot to the Inspector of Elections. Shareholders who have already voted by proxy, including over the internet or by phone, do not need to complete a ballot.
Thanks, Ignacio. The first item of business to come before this meeting is the election of directors for terms to expire at the 2019 annual meeting. The proxy materials identified the Board of Directors nominees and described their backgrounds, skills, and qualifications. Ignacio, will you please read the names of the Board of Directors nominees to be voted on by the shareholders?
The names of the Board of Directors nominees are Keith Allman, Peter Hamilton, Wilson Jones, Leslie Kenne, Kim Metcalf-Kupres, Steven Mizell, Stephen Newlin, Craig Omtvedt, Duncan Palmer, John Shiely, and Scott Wallace.
Thank you again, Ignacio. The nominations are now closed. The second item of business to come before this meeting is the ratification of the appointment of Deloitte & Touche as the company's independent auditors for the fiscal year ending September 30th, 2018. The third item of business to come before this meeting is the consideration of a resolution to approve on an advisory basis the compensation of our executive officers named on page 43 of the proxy statement. The fourth item of business to come before this meeting is to consider a shareholder proposal in the proxy statement for this meeting regarding proxy access, and I will recognize Ms. Leigh Splitt, the proxy holder of the sponsor of the proposal, who may introduce this proposal and make a brief statement. Welcome.
For proxy access enhancement, stockholders ask that the Board of Directors amend its proxy access bylaws provisions and any associated documents to include the following change: for the purpose of decreasing the average amount of company common stock, the average member of a nominating group would be required to hold for three years to satisfy the aggregate ownership requirements to form a nominating group. No limitation shall be placed on the number of stockholders that can aggregate their shares to achieve the 3% of common stock required to nominate directors under our company's proxy access provisions. Proxy access for shareholders enables shareholders to put competing director candidates on the company ballot to see if they can get more votes than some of management's director candidates. A competitive election is good for everyone.
This proposal can help ensure that management will nominate directors with outstanding qualifications in order to avoid giving shareholders a reason to exercise their right to use proxy access. The reason for this proposal is that if even the 20 largest public pension funds were able to combine their shares, they would not meet the current 3% criteria for a continuous three years at most companies, according to the Council of Institutional Investors. This proposal addresses the situation that our company now has, with proxy access potentially for only the largest shareholders who are the least unlikely shareholders to make use of it. Since no group of shareholders at any U.S. company has yet to make use of proxy access, it is important to conservatively make sure that the current limitation of 20 shareholders is not a deterrent to shareholders using proxy access. Please vote to enhance shareholder value.
Shareholder proxy access enhancement, Proposal 4. Thank you.
Thank you. This completes the items to be voted on at today's meeting. The polls for voting are now closed. Ignacio, please proceed with the vote and provide a report on the results.
Thank you. Craig and I received proxies authorizing us to vote shares on the items of business for today's meeting, and we have voted these shares accordingly. Based on a preliminary tabulation from the Inspector of Elections, I can report as follows as to the items of business at today's meeting. Shareholders have elected all 11 director nominees. Shareholders have ratified the appointment of Deloitte & Touche as the company's independent auditors for fiscal 2018. Shareholders have approved named executive officer compensation, and finally, shareholders have voted against the shareholder proposal on proxy access. The final tally of votes certified by the Inspector of Elections will be included with the minutes for this meeting and made publicly available with the SEC in the next few days.
Thanks for that report. As there is no further business to come before this meeting, I declare the meeting adjourned. Now, Ignacio has a brief important announcement.
Thank you, Craig. Members of the management team will now report on the company's activities and provide other information regarding the company's operations. Today's presentation is being webcast. The audio replay will be available on our website for approximately 12 months. The remarks that follow, including the videos shown at this meeting, include statements that we believe to be forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks that could cause actual results to be materially different. Those risks include, among others, matters that we have described on our annual report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on November 21st, 2017, our first quarterly report for fiscal 2018 filed on January 25th, 2018, and other filings we make with the SEC.
We disclaim any obligation to update these forward-looking statements, which may not be updated until our next quarterly earnings press release, if at all. References in their remarks to a quarter or a year are to our fiscal quarter or our fiscal year, unless stated otherwise.
All right. Thanks, Ignacio. And now, before turning the meeting over to David and John, I'd like to thank all of you, our shareholders, for your continued confidence and support. This truly is a great company. We have a strong board, a strong and capable management team, and 15,000 focused and committing team members across the company, and I cannot overstate that. Okay. Additionally, we believe we have the right strategy to continue to deliver strong shareholder returns. Now, please welcome Dave Sagehorn, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Oshkosh Corporation. David.
Good morning. Thank you for joining us today, both in person and on the webcast. I'm Dave Sagehorn, the Chief Financial Officer of Oshkosh Corporation. We're doing things a little different this year for the business update. Typically, you would hear from our CEO, Wilson Jones. Wilson is making a great recovery from a recent surgical procedure and has asked me to spend a few minutes with you today instead. As you heard before, John Bryant, the President of Oshkosh Defense, is also going to say a few words about the defense segment, focusing on the JLTV. John will join me in a few minutes. Before I get started, I would like to recognize several groups that are key contributors to our success, starting with the members of our senior leadership team. We call it the Oshkosh Leadership Team, or OLT for short.
This team is responsible for setting and executing the strategic direction that drives our company. Of course, as Craig mentioned, our success would not be possible without the efforts and dedication of our 15,000 global team members. I see quite a few of you in the crowd today. I want to thank all of you for your efforts. Okay, let's get started. 2017 marked our 100th anniversary. We don't view our company as 100 years old. We see ourselves as 100 years strong and getting stronger. 2017 was a successful year on many different fronts. We had a strong year financially. Revenues were up nearly 9% compared to the prior year. Adjusted operating income increased 29%, which drove adjusted earnings per share growth of just over 35%.
We also continued to return cash to shareholders as we announced an increase in our quarterly cash dividend for the fourth consecutive year. Our strong financial performance culminated in total shareholder return in fiscal 2017, including dividends of 49%. That is a good year. We also managed to have fun along the way. Throughout the year, we celebrated our 100th anniversary with our team members and the communities within which we work. I hope many of you in the room today had an opportunity to celebrate with us. In May, we had the honor of visiting the New York Stock Exchange. For many, the NYSE is viewed as a symbol of freedom and capitalism. Wilson Jones rang the closing bell that day as we celebrated our anniversary.
For team members and their families, we celebrated at the Oshkosh EAA with a musical concert under a gorgeous July evening that ended with some outstanding fireworks. Things really got moving the next morning with our historic parade through the streets of Oshkosh that featured more than 70 of our products. The streets were lined with close to 20,000 friends, neighbors, and well-wishers as enthusiasm ran high for the parade. Our factory open house welcomed more than 6,000 visitors for a unique opportunity to tour one of the finest defense vehicle facilities in the world. One of our Pierce fire trucks took center stage in Washington, D.C., this past summer when the White House hosted an event that showcased world-class products from all 50 states. Nearly 1,000 Oshkosh team members and friends came together to pack rice for our Feed the Body, Feed the Soul event in October.
The team packed nearly 200,000 pounds of rice in 24 hours, enough to meet the need in Northeast Wisconsin for a whole year. It was a huge success, and we're planning our next event. 100 years ago, William Besserdich and B.A. Mosling first developed innovative patents leading to four-wheel drive technology that took people off-road, allowing them to go places they never thought possible. As a leader in all our markets, we've come a long way since that first all-wheel drive technology. Today, we give people the courage and confidence to perform some of the most dangerous and important jobs in the world. We enable them to perform those jobs at the highest level and in the safest manner possible. We sell products in more than 150 countries that support the construction of buildings of every kind.
Communities and professionals around the world depend on Oshkosh products and our expert aftermarket support. U.S. servicemen and women rely on our tactical wheeled vehicles, as do the military forces of dozens of our allies, to help perform their missions and keep them safe. We always appreciate the efforts of first responders as we support their actions with the world's greatest fire trucks and aircraft rescue firefighting vehicles. Our products, the markets that we serve, and the people that support our customers make Oshkosh Corporation a different, integrated, global industrial. We're known for market-leading technology and innovation, and you'll find examples of that across all of our business segments. You see it in our JLG aerial work platforms, the revolutionary Ascendant Class of aerials with its patent-protected, innovative design, the lighter-weight Meridian Refuse Collection Vehicle incorporating leading-edge technology and voice of the customer.
Of course, it is front and center with our highly mobile, industry-leading tactical wheeled vehicles that are the pride of our defense segment. We support those that build, serve, defend, and protect. Our people are passionate because they know what's at stake. We are customer-focused, and it shows in the impact we have in the lives of our customers. Our products play essential roles for completing jobs and fulfilling missions, whether it's keeping people safe working at heights, providing mobility and protection that could be lifesaving for soldiers and Marines, enabling firefighters to protect people and property, or supporting the construction and cleanup of cities and buildings and communities as we move toward the future. You've heard us talk about our people-first culture. We believe a strong and positive culture is a great way to drive engagement. Engage, develop, connect.
These are the keys to driving better team member engagement and, in turn, improved performance and customer satisfaction. One of the big challenges many businesses are facing is the battle for talent, and the stakes are high. Along with a strong people-first culture, we need a work environment that will attract diverse talent from all over the world. We're in the process of finalizing arrangements with the city of Oshkosh that will enable us to build a new global headquarters to allow us to more effectively compete for that valuable talent. Our intent is to bring together hundreds of team members who are currently working in 40 locations around the city.
We plan to consolidate our hardworking team members from many of these locations into a modern, efficient headquarters building that will drive collaboration, attract talent from around the globe, and help us build a strong sense of community and culture. We're proud to call Oshkosh home and plan to be here for a long time. We're also proud to be active in the communities where we live and work. Our team member community involvement is growing. In addition to the Feed the Body, Feed the Soul event, in 2017, our team at Pierce hosted the fifth annual 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb at Historic Lambeau Field in Green Bay. More than 2,000 people came together and raised $150,000 for the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. This is just one example of our community involvement. Team members and their families were involved in communities across the U.S.
Across the globe to collect food, raise money, rebuild damaged structures, and give back to their communities in countless ways throughout 2017. The positive impact we are making has been generating awareness and recognition from a variety of external organizations. In 2017, we were recognized for the second straight year as one of the world's most ethical companies. We were also named a Forbes Best Large Employer, a military-friendly employer, a Glassdoor Top 50 employer, and just two weeks ago, we were named by Fortune Magazine as one of the world's most admired companies. Wilson Jones commented that our good fortune with all this recognition for the company will make for a tall order to duplicate in 2018. He also said with a big smile, "We're ready for the challenge." We're proud of all the recognition that our company received in 2017.
However, there's one more award that we won this year that we think is really cool. Our JLTV, the vehicle right over there and that many of you have seen on the roads around Oshkosh, was announced as the winner of the Coolest Thing Made in Wisconsin in 2017. The JLTV has generated a lot of interest and excitement, and it's being built right here in Oshkosh. It's something that we can all be very proud of. In addition to protecting our brave servicemen and women, it will have a meaningful impact on our team members and the broader community. I'd like to invite the President of our defense segment, John Bryant, up to the stage at this time to talk about this great vehicle and share with us some of the great things going on in the defense segment.
Thanks very much, Dave. Good morning. I'm John Bryant, President of Oshkosh Defense. At Oshkosh Defense, we never lose sight of why we do what we do. Our mission is to enable people who dedicate their lives to military service to accomplish their missions and return home safely. In today's evolving battlefield, the need for tactical wheeled vehicles that keep pace with our customers' changing needs is critical to mission success. We operate with unparalleled commitment to those who depend on us to get the performance and protection they need from the vehicles they rely on. Every Oshkosh Defense vehicle is backed by a dedicated team of technical experts, a global logistics and supplier network, and a complete range of lifecycle sustainment services to optimize fleet readiness around the world. Oshkosh has provided decades of service to the armed forces.
We've been producing heavy payload vehicles for the Army for more than 35 years, beginning with the M911 HET in 1976. Our vehicles continue to address the needs of the customer today. But how we win is what really sets us apart. We win because we leverage our experience and our unique developing and manufacturing capabilities. The M-ATV program was in response to an urgent wartime need. We pulled together as an organization and delivered a vehicle in less than nine months. This directly filled the warfighter's need and kept them safe in an IED environment. The FMTV was a highly competitive bid based on a government tech data package where we needed to unseat the incumbent supplier. We applied our expertise in lean manufacturing and robust supplier management to win. The JLTV competition was a traditional 10-year development program.
We won by building the best technical solution, by delivering the most protected mobility for the dollar. Our performance was second to none. That agility to flex is what makes us a strong competitive manufacturer. Now let's talk about JLTV. JLTV truly redefines tactical wheeled vehicle performance and significantly outperforms its predecessor, the Humvee, by providing the next generation of protection, mobility, and network capability. This vehicle provides the ballistic protection of a light tank, the underbody protection of an MRAP, the network capability of a mobile command center, and the off-road mobility of a Baja racer. It's an incredible vehicle. Every inch of our JLTV solution was designed to respond to our customer requirements and evaluation factors. With our JLTV, soldiers and Marines are receiving the protected mobility they need to accomplish the mission and get home safely.
We're also pleased to have forged a strong partnership with the U.S. government. Scott Davis, the Army's former program executive officer for combat support and combat service support, was quoted this past October in National Defense Magazine as saying, "The JLTV could serve as a model for other major acquisition programs, not only because of what JLTV accomplished in capability and value, but in how it achieved success." The JLTV program is on track. We've successfully delivered over 1,000 vehicles since October 2016. Working closely with our government customer, we've completed reliability qualification testing, accumulating over 100,000 miles and greatly exceeding reliability requirements. We're looking forward to a full-rate production decision in 2019 and both Army and Marines' initial operating capability in early 2020. The domestic outlook for the JLTV program continues to be strong. At the core, JLTV is a multi-year, multi-billion-dollar program with strong budget visibility.
It's an eight year initial effort worth $6.7 billion that includes more than 18,000 vehicles delivered in four configurations. We know the Army plans to buy approximately 50,000 and the Marines 5,500 over the life of the program. We're also seeing tremendous international interest in JLTV. Working closely with the U.S. government, we're partnering in pursuit of foreign military sales, which we believe will be a strong growth market for this amazing vehicle. We expect there'll be JLTVs with many of our allies all over the world. And of course, we're building them right here in Oshkosh in the Fox Valley. We're proud of our commitment to provide great protection and mobility for our troops and for our allies. Because of our long history of success, we can answer the question, "Why Oshkosh Defense?" with great confidence. We are the trusted tactical wheeled vehicle manufacturer.
No other OEM has executed more successful programs than Oshkosh Defense. As I mentioned before, everything we do centers around our mission to enable people who dedicate their lives to military service to accomplish their missions and return home safely. We consider this a privilege. Thank you.
Thanks, John. A big thanks to your team as well. Keep up the great work. A little less than two weeks ago, we announced our first quarter financial results. We started out the year on a very strong note with adjusted earnings per share that was more than 3 x higher than the prior year. Our strong first quarter performance and improved outlook for access equipment demand, along with the benefits that we'll see from tax reform, led us to raise our expectations for the full year. We increased our estimate ranges for sales, adjusted operating income, and adjusted earnings per share. Before we conclude our program with a video reflecting on our 100 years in business, I would like to express our appreciation again to you for being with us today. We also want to thank you for being shareholders of Oshkosh Corporation.
We're proud of the work that our 15,000 team members do every single day, and we're proud to be making a difference in people's lives. We have a positive outlook and are excited about the future. If you have any questions after the video concludes, Pat Davidson and Jeff Watt from our Investor Relations team will be available to speak with you. Thanks again for coming. We're committed to delivering value for our shareholders.