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Crown Holdings' (CCK) Q2 Earnings Miss Estimates, View Cut

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Crown Holdings, Inc. (CCK - Free Report) delivered second-quarter 2018 adjusted earnings per share of $1.55, which increased 32.5% year over year. However, it missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.58. Earnings came in at the lower end of management’s guided range of $1.55-$1.65.

On a reported basis, the company reported earnings of 99 cents per share compared to 94 cents in the prior-year quarter.

Net sales in the quarter rose 41% year over year to $3,046 million. The revenue figure also surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2,965 million. The year-over-year improvement in sales was driven by positive impact of the Signode acquisition, improved beverage can volumes, pass through of higher material costs to customers and favorable currency-translation impact.

Crown Holdings, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

 

Crown Holdings, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | Crown Holdings, Inc. Quote

Cost and Margins

Cost of products sold increased 42% year over year to $2,466 million. On a year-over-year basis, gross profit improved 35% to $580 million, while gross margin contracted 90 basis points (bps) to 19% in the quarter.

Selling and administrative expenses increased 75% year over year to $159 million. Adjusted segment operating income increased 30% year over year to $207 million in the reported quarter. Operating margin shrunk 60 bps to 6.8% from 7.4% recorded in the year-ago quarter.

Segment  Performance

Net sales from the Americas Beverage segment were $848 million, up 16% from $729 million reported in the year-ago quarter. Segment operating profit climbed 3.7% to $113 million from $109 million in the year-earlier quarter.

The European Beverage segment’s sales inched up 0.7% year over year to $405 million. Operating income rose 17% year over year to $59 million.

Revenues in the European Food segment were up 12% year over year to $514 million. Segment operating profit went up 19.7% to $85 million from $71 million reported in the year-ago quarter.

Revenues in the Asia-Pacific segment improved 15.7% year over year to $332 million. Operating profit went up to $47 million from $45 million reported in the prior-year quarter.

Financial Update

Crown Holdings had cash and cash equivalents of $298 million at the end of the second quarter compared with $301 million at the end of the prior-year quarter. The company reported cash used in operating activities of $492 million for the six-month period ended Jun 30, 2018, compared with $475 million recorded in the prior-year period.

Adjusted free cash flow was $330 million in the second quarter compared with $259 million in the prior-year quarter.  As of the quarter end, Crown Holdings’ total debt increased to $1,706 million compared with $1,372 million as of the year-ago quarter end.

On Apr 3, Crown Holdings concluded the acquisition of Transit Packaging business. Transit Packaging made a significant contribution during the second quarter, with continued growth across its leading equipment and tools businesses, and is well poised to continue to grow in the future.

Outlook

Crown Holdings trimmed its adjusted earnings per share guidance of $5.15-$5.30 from $5.35-$5.55, for full-year 2018 due to persistent elevated freight costs in North America and foreign currency-translation impact from the strength of the U.S. dollar. It also projects third-quarter 2018 earnings per share of $1.60-$1.70.

Share Price Performance

In the past year, Crown Holdings has underperformed the industry it belongs to. The stock has depreciated around 26%, performing even worse than the industry’s 12% decline.



Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Crown Holdings currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

Better-ranked stocks in the same sector include Chart Industries, Inc. (GTLS - Free Report) , Roper Technologies, Inc. (ROP - Free Report) and Welbilt, Inc. . While Chart Industries and Roper sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Welbilt carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Chart Industries has a long-term earnings growth rate of 26.9%. The stock has appreciated 119% in a year’s time.

Roper Technologies has a long-term earnings growth rate of 12.3%. Its shares have rallied 21% in the past year.

Welbilt has a long-term earnings growth rate of 10%. The company’s shares have been up 17% over the past year.

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