Milacron Holdings Corp. (NYSE:MCRN) delivered fourth-quarter fiscal 2017 adjusted earnings per share of 59 cents, a 26% increase year over year. It also surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 39 cents. The improved performance can be attributed to continued orders and sales momentum as well as strong performance in Fluids Technologies and Advanced Plastic Processing Technologies segments.
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT): Free Stock Analysis Report
Komatsu Ltd. (KMTUY): Free Stock Analysis Report
H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (HEES): Free Stock Analysis Report
Milacron Holdings Corp. (MCRN): Free Stock Analysis Report
Original post
Including one-time items, the company reported earnings per share of 5 cents in the quarter compared with 2 cents per share in the year-ago quarter.
Operational Update
Milacron’s revenues went up 12.4% to $325 million from the year-ago quarter. Revenues beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $303 million. Excluding favorable effects of currency movements, sales increased 9% from the prior-year quarter. New orders in the quarter grew 8.7% year over year to $316.3 million in the quarter.
Cost of sales during the quarter went up 22% year over year to $239 million from the prior-year quarter. Gross profit declined 8% year over year to $86 million with gross margin contracting 580 basis points (bps) to 26.3%.
Milacron Holdings Corp. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Melt Delivery and Control Systems: Net sales went up 2.6% year over year to $104 million. Excluding favorable influence of currency movements of $3.7 million, sales dipped 1.1% from the prior-year period. Adjusted EBITDA declined 1% to $32.2 million.
Fluid Technologies: Net sales rose 11% year over year to $31 million. Sales improved 5.4% from the prior-year period, excluding $1.5 million of favorable effects of currency movements. Adjusted EBITDA increased 25% to $7.4 million.
Financial Update
As of Dec 31, 2017, Milacron had cash and cash equivalents of $188 million compared with $130 million as of Dec 31, 2016. The company generated $110 million of cash from operating activities in 2017 compared with $116 million in the prior year. Long-term debt was $916 million as of Dec 31, 2017, compared with $934 million as of Dec 31, 2016.
2017 Performance
Milacron reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.81 in 2017, up 20% year over year. Earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.62. On a reported basis, the company posted earnings of 2 cents per share compared with 43 cents recorded in 2016.
Revenues improved 6% year over year to $1.23 billion from $1.17 billion recorded in 2016. Revenues also beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.21 billion.
Outlook
Milacron has begun the year with a strong backlog position of $287 million. The company projects sales growth guidance of 2-4% in 2018. Adjusted EBITDA is forecasted to come in between $237 million and $243 million. The mid-point of the guidance range depicts 6% year-over-year growth. Free cash flow (before restructuring) is expected to lie between $80 million and $90 million.
In the last three months, the company has outperformed the industry it belongs to. Its shares rose 21%, ahead of the industry’s growth of 4.2%.
Milacron currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 (Strong Buy) Rank stocks here.
Other Stocks to Consider
Some other top-ranked stocks in the same sector include H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEES) , Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) and Komatsu Ltd. (OTC:KMTUY) . While H&E Equipment Services sports a Zacks Rank #1, Astec and Komatsu carry a Zacks Rank #2.
H&E Equipment Services has a long-term earnings growth rate of 18.6%. Its shares have soared 51% in the past year.
Caterpillar has a long-term earnings growth rate of 10.3%. The company’s shares have rallied 58% in last year.
Komatsu has a long-term earnings growth rate of 27%. The stock has surged 47% in a year’s time.
Today's Stocks from Zacks' Hottest Strategies
It's hard to believe, even for us at Zacks. But while the market gained +18.8% from 2016 - Q1 2017, our top stock-picking screens have returned +157.0%, +128.0%, +97.8%, +94.7%, and +90.2% respectively.
And this outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon. Over the years it has been remarkably consistent. From 2000 - Q1 2017, the composite yearly average gain for these strategies has beaten the market more than 11X over. Maybe even more remarkable is the fact that we're willing to share their latest stocks with you without cost or obligation.
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT): Free Stock Analysis Report
Komatsu Ltd. (KMTUY): Free Stock Analysis Report
H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (HEES): Free Stock Analysis Report
Milacron Holdings Corp. (MCRN): Free Stock Analysis Report
Original post
3rd party Ad. Not an offer or recommendation by Investing.com. See disclosure here or
remove ads
.