Shares of Itron, Inc. ITRI lost around 0.67% and closed at $30.91 yesterday on reporting adjusted loss of 38 cents in second-quarter 2015. In the year-ago quarter, the company had earned 54 cents per share. Analysts polled by Zacks had expected the company to post earnings per share of 38 cents. Warranty cost in the Water segment, weaker-than-expected Gas gross margin in the EMEA region, increased tax expense due to operating losses in countries where deferred tax assets have been impaired, led to the loss in the quarter.
Including one-time items, viz. amortization of intangibles, restructuring charges, acquisition related expenses and goodwill impairment the company reported a loss per share of 37 cents per share, as against earnings per share of 49 cents in the year-ago quarter.
Operational Update
Total revenue declined 4% to $470 million from $489 million in the year-ago quarter. Revenues, however, beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $444 million. Unfavorable foreign currency exchange rates hit revenues by approximately $50 million. Excluding the impact of foreign currency, revenues increased 6% year over year. Improvement in the Electricity segment was offset by decline in the Gas and Water segments.
Cost of goods sold went up 8% to $351 million from $326 million in the prior-year quarter. Gross profit decreased 27% year over year to $119 million. Gross margin plunged 810 basis points (bps) to 25.2%, primarily due to lower volumes, unfavorable product mix in the Gas segment and increased warranty expense in the Water segment.
Adjusted operating expenses declined 3% year over year to $123 million. Changes in foreign currency exchange rates had a favorable impact of $13 million in the quarter. Excluding this, expenses increased by $8 million owing to higher sales and marketing costs in Electricity, increased product development investments in Gas and Water and higher general and administrative expenses due to employee related benefits and information technology support.
Itron reported adjusted operating loss of $4.9 million as against with adjusted operating profit of $35.3 million in the year-ago quarter. The company suffered a loss due to a warranty charge in the Water segment and decreased contribution from the Gas segment.
Segment Performance
Electricity Segment: Net sales at the Electricity Segment increased 11% year over year to $203 million. The segment reported adjusted operating income of $1 million unlike operating loss of $2.9 million in the year-ago quarter.
Gas Segment: The segment’s sales went down 10% year over year to $139 million. Adjusted operating income for the quarter was $16 million, down 44% from the year-ago quarter.
Water Segment: The Water Segment reported sales of $127 million in the quarter, down 16% from $151 million in the prior-year quarter. Adjusted operating loss for the quarter was $9.8 million contrary to operating profit of $23.2 million in the year-ago quarter.
Financial Position
Itron ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $128 million compared with $112.4 million as of 2014-end. The company reported cash generated from operating activities of $17.6 million during first half of 2015 compared with cash flow of $67.2 million in the prior-year period.
The debt-to-capitalization ratio was 36.6% as of Jun 30, 2015 as against 31.2% as of Dec 31, 2014. Free cash flow in the first half was negative $3.4 million unlike a positive $47.8 million in the first half of 2014.
During the quarter, Itron repurchased 188,775 shares at an average price of $36.25 per share. As of Jun 30, 2015, the company had repurchased 272,775 shares of Itron common stock at an average price of $36.30 per share under its $50 million share repurchase authorization initiated in Feb 2015.
Bookings and Backlog
Itron had bookings of $398 million in the quarter. The company reported twelve-month backlog of $791 million and total backlog of $1.4 billion.
Guidance
Itron expects adjusted earnings per share in the band of $1.00 and $1.30 on the back of revenues between $1.85 billion and $1.95 billion in 2015.
The guidance includes the effect of the $26.7 million warranty charge in the Water segment recorded in the first half of the year, which led to an unfavorable impact of 43 cents on earnings per share. The guidance assumes a Euro to U.S. dollar average exchange rate of $1.12 in 2015 compared with an average rate of $1.33 in 2014, a gross margin of approximately 30% and average shares outstanding of approximately 38.5 million for the year. The company also anticipates modest upward pressure on its previously provided guidance of 37% effective tax rate for the full year.
Itron expects results in the back half of the year to improve from the first half. This will be driven by increased revenue supported by contracted backlog; higher gross margin reflecting additional volumes across all segments, product cost reductions and factory efficiencies in Gas in the fourth quarter. Moreover, immediate cost reductions in all categories of discretionary spending and a lower effective tax rate than realized in the first half of the year will also aid earnings
Our View
Itron will benefit from its consistent focus on lowering costs through restructuring actions. Moreover, a strong backlog, new contracts, flexible business operations and expansion in emerging markets are likely to drive long-term growth. However, business challenges and economic uncertainty in different geographic regions, especially EMEA, remain headwinds.
Liberty Lake, WA-based Itron Inc., along with its subsidiaries, is one of the principal technology providers to energy and water industries worldwide. It produces electricity, gas, water and heat meters, data collection and utility software solutions as well as various other associated metering products. The company provides its services to residential, commercial and industrial customers, along with transmission and distribution customers.
Peer Performance
Badger Meter Inc. BMI reported a 9.8% year-over-year decline in earnings to 55 cents per share in the second quarter of 2015. Earnings were also short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 74 cents by a wide margin, a negative earnings surprise of 25.7%.
Itron currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell). Some Better-ranked stocks in the electrical test equipment sector are Teradyne Inc. TER and Ametek Inc. AME. Both carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
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