Investing.com - Pentair plunged on Tuesday after the water solutions company cut its full-year guidance following weaker preliminary first-quarter results due to adverse weather conditions.
For full-year 2019, Pentair (NYSE:PNR) said that it expects adjusted earnings per share in the range of $2.30 to $2.35, below prior guidance of $2.50 to $2.60. Full-year sales, meanwhile, are expected to increase about 1% to 2% on a reported basis, down from previous sales guidance for an increase of about 5% to 6%.
Its shares fell more than 14%.
Pentair reported preliminary first-quarter adjusted earnings of $0.43 per share, missing its prior forecast for earnings in a range of $0.52 to $0.55 per share. Revenue for the quarter slumped 6%, well below the previous estimate of flat to up 1%.
"Our first quarter was significantly impacted by the adverse cold and wet weather in our higher margin aquatics and ag-related businesses," Pentair CEO John L. Stauch said.
The company also highlighted moderating growth in several of its end markets and higher-than-expected inventory levels in some of its key distribution channels as headwinds in the quarter weighed on growth.
"Due to seasonality in PNR's major end markets, it is unlikely the company can fully recoup from Q1 headwinds in 2019, but we expect a return to normal growth in 2020," said CFRA, an independent research provider.
"We forecast 2019 sales up 1%-2%, down from our previous estimate for 5% growth."
Pentair will report full first-quarter results on April 17.