Wesco Aircraft Holdings, Inc. (WAIR) reported fourth quarter fiscal 2013 adjusted earnings of 33 cents per share, up 13.8% from the year-ago figure of 29 cents. Earnings also surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny.
The improvement reflects consistent growth in commercial activities in North America, rapid improvement in the Rest of World commercial sales and enhanced MRO sales.
For the full year fiscal 2013, earnings were $1.22 per share, up 23.2% from the year-ago profit level of 99 cents.
Operational Highlights
Sales for the reported quarter increased 10.5% to a record $234.3 million from $212.2 million in the year-ago quarter. However, the top line missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $238.0 million.
Segmental revenues from North America were up 9.8% year over year. The company also demonstrated strong international growth in the reported quarter. It continues to witness increased bookings, contract extensions as well as contract signing with new customers. Segmental revenues at Rest of World climbed 22.7% year over year driven by solid overseas business.
Full year fiscal 2013 revenues were $901.6 million versus 776.2 million in the year-ago period.
Adjusted earnings before interest tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) were $53.0 million in the fiscal fourth quarter 2013, up 15.5% year over year.
Financial Condition
Cash and cash equivalents as of Sep 30, 2013 were $78.7 million, up from $60.9 million as of Sep 30, 2012. Long-term debt as of Sep 30, 2013 was $568.0 million, down from $626 million at the end of fiscal 2012.
Guidance
The company raised its top-line guidance for fiscal 2014 to the range of $975 million to $1.01 billion, which reflects an increase of 8.1%–12.0% from 2013 results. The company expects robust demand and solid execution in the commercial OE and MRO segments to drive the improvement. However, Wesco Aircraft anticipates flat top-line growth at its military segment.
Adjusted earnings per share are expected in the range of $1.31 to $1.37 and effective tax rate to be approximately 34% to 35% for fiscal 2014.
At the Peers
Recently, aerospace giant The Boeing Company (BA) reported stellar third quarter 2013 results on the back of an impressive performance across the company's businesses. Its adjusted third quarter 2013 earnings came in at $1.80 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.54 by 16.9% as well as the year-ago profit of $1.55 by 16.1%.
The world’s largest stand-alone defense contractor, Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMT), posted third quarter 2013 earnings of $2.57 per share, comfortably surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.26 by 13.7%. Earnings also surged almost 16.3% from the year-ago profit of $2.21 per share. The rise in earnings was mainly attributed to strong operational performance.
Zacks Rank
Wesco Aircraft has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Apart from Boeing and Lockheed Martin, we also have Northrop Grumman Corporation (NOC) in the space with a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
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