Cooper Tire (CTB) Q4 Earnings Beat Estimates, Revenues Miss

Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. (NYSE:CTB) has posted adjusted earnings of 66 cents per share in the fourth quarter of 2018, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 56 cents.

Cooper Tire recorded net sales of $770.5 million, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $773.1 million. However, the top line was higher than the year-ago quarter’s net sales of $757 million.

Operating profit was $24.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2018, down from the year-ago quarter figure of $56.3 million.

Segment Details

Americas Tire Operations registered 3% increase in net sales to $664 million. Operating profit in this segment rose 3.1% to $70 million while operating margin remained unchanged at 10.6%.

International Tire Operations registered 7.8% decline in revenues to $149 million. Operating loss was $33 million against operating income of $7 million in the year-ago quarter. Operating margin was a negative 22.2% against a positive 4.6% in the year-ago quarter.

Financial Position

Cooper Tire had cash and cash equivalents of $356 million as of Dec 31, 2018, down from $372 million as of Dec 31, 2017. Capital expenditure decreased to $49 million in the fourth quarter of 2018 from $54 million in the year-ago quarter.

Outlook

For 2019, Cooper Tire anticipates modest growth in unit volume in comparison with the 2018 figure. It expects operating margin to improve in 2019.

Capital expenditure is expected to be $190-$210 million in 2019. The effective tax rate for the year is expected to be 22-25%.

Cooper Tire currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

A few better-ranked stocks in the auto space are Oshkosh Corp. (NYSE:OSK) , General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) , and American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:AXL) . While Oshkosh currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), both General Motors and American Axle & Manufacturing has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Oshkosh has an expected long-term growth rate of 11.3%. Over the past three months, shares of the company have surged 21.7%.

General Motors has an expected long-term growth rate of 8.5%. Over the past three months, shares of the company have risen 12.7%.

American Axle & Manufacturing has an expected long-term growth rate of 8.1%. Over the past three months, shares of the company have risen 44.8%.

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