Romanian Utility Selects Itron Meters To Reduce Water Loss

Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) recently inked a deal with Romanian water utility — SC CUP Dunarea Braila SA — to help reduce water losses by replacing the latter’s lower precision meters with its Flodis/Flostar M water meters.

The above-mentioned utility caters to nearly 280,000 customers in the City of Matao in southeastern Romania. Per the contract, the utility will install nearly 30,000 Itron Flodis/Flostar M meters which are equipped with smart radio modules. Itron will collaborate with a local company Vestra to deploy these meters.

Itron’s Flodis/Flostar M meters store and transmit advanced data which will help the utility reduce meter-reading time and cost, and avoid manual reading mistakes. The utility can use this precise information and data analysis to monitor water usage, detect fraud and optimize water network efficiency.

This contract is in sync with Itron’s continued efforts to reduce water loss by providing comprehensive solutions that measure, manage, and analyze energy and water use. To maintain the same objective, the company inked deals with Brazilian utility, Aguas de Matao and Tonga Water Board, last year.

In January 2018, Itron signed a new contract with the Rwandan water company — WASAC — to modernize its water-metering system. WASAC will install 50,000 highly accurate Itron water meters over the next two years, following the completion of a three-year contract with the latter to install 110,000 meters.

Notably, Itron secured several notable new customer contracts in fourth-quarter 2017 which will further improve its backlog position. Over the past five years, its backlog increased 13% on a compounded annual basis and the 12-month backlog has risen 15%. These growth trends reflect strong industry demand for new technologies. Thus, the company’s differentiated software and services offerings, combined with ongoing operational discipline, will drive its financial results.

Year to date, Itron has outperformed its industry with respect to price performance. The stock has gained around 9%, while the industry has recorded growth of 7% during the same time frame.

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

Itron currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Better-ranked stocks in the same sector are Teradyne, Inc. (NYSE:TER) , AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) and Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV) . While Teradyne sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), AMETEK and Fortive carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Teradyne has a long-term earnings growth rate of 12%. Its shares have gained 38.5%, over the past six months.

AMETEK has a long-term earnings growth rate of 11.5%. The company’s shares have rallied 18% during the same time frame.

Fortive has a long-term earnings growth rate of 9.6%. The stock has gained 10.4% in six months’ time.

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