Electrical equipment manufacturer AZZ Incorporated AZZ posted earnings per share of 70 cents in the third quarter of fiscal 2017 (ended Nov 30, 2016), missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 15.7%.
Quarterly earnings were also down 23.1% from 91 cents per share reported in the year-ago period.
The year-over-year decline in earnings was due to lower operating income from the Energy and Galvanizing segments.
Total Revenue
Again, AZZ reported third-quarter fiscal 2017 revenues of $227.5 million, lagging the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $234 million by 2.9%. Moreover, quarterly revenues dropped 6.1% from $242.4 million reported last year.
The top-line decline was again a result of lower contributions from the Galvanizing and Energy segments.
AZZ Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Quarterly Highlights
AZZ’s backlog at the end of the quarter was $347.3 million, up 7.1% from $324.4 million a year ago. Nearly 19% of the backlog is related to customers outside the U.S.
Fiscal third-quarter order booking of $221.9 million was down 2.9% from $228.7 million booked in the comparable prior-year period.
Operating income stood at $28.8 million, down 20.9% from $36.4 million in the prior-year quarter.
Selling, general and administrative expenses came in at $25.1 million, down 3.5% from $26 million in the prior-year quarter.
Interest expenses for the fiscal third quarter declined marginally to $3.6 million from $3.7 million reported in the prior-year period.
Price Movement
Over the past one year, AZZ has underperformed the Zacks categorized Machinery- Electrical Market industry. The company’s shares gained 19.3%, compared with the industry’s return of 34.1%.
The company is underperforming primarily due to weaker-than-expected performance of its Energy and Galvanizing segments. Energy operations were adversely impacted by lower refinery turnarounds and nuclear outages, which reduced the need for maintenance, while softness in the oil and gas, solar, and petrochemical markets are having a negative effect on its Galvanizing segment.
Upcoming Peer Releases
EnerSys ENSis expected to release third-quarter fiscal 2017 earnings on Jan 26. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter is pegged at $1.13.
ABB Ltd. ABBis expected to release fourth-quarter 2016 earnings on Feb 1. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter is pegged at 30 cents.
Energous Corporation WATTis expected to release fourth-quarter 2016 earnings on Mar 9. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter is pegged at 52 cents.
Zacks Rank
AZZ currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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