Back to top

Image: Bigstock

AGCO Corp (AGCO) Q4 Earnings & Sales Top Estimates, Up Y/Y

Read MoreHide Full Article

AGCO Corporation (AGCO - Free Report) delivered fourth-quarter 2021 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $3.08 compared with the prior-year quarter’s $1.54 per share. The reported figure beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.72. The quarterly results reflect strong margin and sales performance across all segments.

Including one-time items, AGCO posted EPS of $3.75 compared with the year-ago quarter’s $1.78.

Revenues increased 16% year over year to $3,155 million during the December-end quarter. The top line surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3,047 million. Excluding the favorable currency-translation impact of 3.2%, net sales were up 19.3% year over year.

Operational Update

Cost of sales increased 16.5% year over year to $2,473 million during the fourth quarter. Gross profit climbed 15% year over year to $683 million during the reported quarter. The gross margin came in at 22%, unchanged year over year.

Selling, general and administrative expenses came in at $285 million compared with the year-ago quarter’s $283 million. Adjusted income from operations was up 42% year over year to $272 million. Consequently, the operating margin came in at 8.6% compared with the year-earlier quarter’s 7%.

AGCO Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

 

AGCO Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

AGCO Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | AGCO Corporation Quote

 

Segment Performance

Sales in the North America segment were up 39% year over year to $675 million during the October-December period. The segment reported an operating income of $23.7 million compared with the prior-year quarter’s $9.8 million.

Sales in the South America segment increased 52% year over year to  $406 million. The segment reported an operating profit of $48.5 million compared with the prior-year quarter’s $15.9 million.

The EME (Europe/Middle East) segment’s sales came in at $1,797 million compared with the $1,723 million reported in the year-ago period. The EME’s operating income came in at $217 million compared with the year-ago quarter’s income of $205 million.

Sales in the Asia/Pacific segment were up 15% year on year to $278 million. The segment registered an operating profit of $38 million compared with the year-ago quarter’s $26 million.

Financial Update

AGCO Corporation reported cash and cash equivalents of $889 million at the end of 2021, down from $1,119 million at 2020-end. The company generated $683 million cash from operating activities in 2021 compared with $897 million in 2020.

2021 Performance

AGCO Corporation reported an adjusted EPS of $10.38 in 2021 compared with $5.61 reported in the prior year. Earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $9.03. Including one-time items, the bottom line came in at $11.85, up 109.7% from $5.65 reported in 2020.

Sales were up 22% year over year to $11.14 billion. The top line surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $11.03 billion.

Guidance

AGCO Corporation expects net sales for 2022 to be around $12.3 billion, suggesting improved sales volumes and pricing, partly offset by the negative impact from foreign currency translation. Gross and operating margins are expected to be higher than the 2021 levels, owing to higher sales and production volumes as well as the company’s pricing actions to mitigate cost inflation. The improved profitability is likely to support incremental investments in engineering and other technology to advance AGCO’s precision agriculture and digital initiatives. Considering these, management projects adjusted EPS for the current year to be at $11.50.

Price Performance

AGCO Corporation’s shares have gained 6.9% in the past year compared with the industry’s growth of 13.4%.

Zacks Investment ResearchImage Source: Zacks Investment Research

Zacks Rank and Stocks to Consider

AGCO Corporation currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the Industrial Products sector include Dover Corporation (DOV - Free Report) , Silgan Holdings Inc. (SLGN - Free Report) and Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (AIT - Free Report) . While DOV sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), SLGN & AIT carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Dover’s fourth-quarter 2021 adjusted EPS increased 15% year over year to $1.78, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.66. DOV has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 12.3%, on average.

Dover has an estimated earnings growth rate of around 12.7% for 2022. In the past 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has been revised upward by 4%. DOV’s shares have rallied around 44.5% in a year.

Silgan Holdings’ fourth-quarter 2021 adjusted EPS increased 32% year over year to a record 79 cents, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 73 cents. SLGN has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 3.8%, on average.

Silgan has a projected earnings growth rate of 13.5% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2022 earnings has moved north by 3% in the past 60 days. In a year, SLGN has appreciated 19.7%.

Applied Industrial Technologies reported adjusted EPS of $1.46 in second-quarter fiscal 2022 (ended Dec 31, 2020), up 49% year on year and beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.09. AIT has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 27.9%, on average.

Applied Industrial Technologies has an expected earnings growth rate of 24.8% for fiscal 2022. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal year earnings has moved up by 9.4% in the past 60 days. AIT’s shares have appreciated 36% in a year.

Published in