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Platform Specialty (PAH) Q2 Earnings & Revenues Top Estimates

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Platform Specialty Products Corporation recorded a profit of $12 million or 4 cents per share in the second quarter of 2018 against a loss of $61.1 million or 21 cents a year ago. Adjusted earnings per share in the quarter came in at 26 cents, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 24 cents.

Net sales of $1.02 billion increased 9% year over year on 7% growth in organic sales. The figure exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $984 million.

Platform Specialty Products Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

 

Platform Specialty Products Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | Platform Specialty Products Corporation Quote

Segment Highlights

Revenues at the Performance Solutions segment rose 9% year over year to $501.7 million. Adjusted EBITDA grew 14% year over year to $116.6 million.

The Agricultural Solutions segment recorded sales of $520.8 million, up 9% year over year. Adjusted EBITDA rose 7% year over year to $109.4 million.

Financial Position

Platform Specialty ended the second quarter with $442.4 million of cash and cash equivalents, up 3.5% year over year. Long-term debt was $5,402 million, up 2.5% year over year.
 
In the second quarter, cash flows from operating activities were $69.4 million, down from $107.2 million a year ago. Capital expenditures totaled $14.3 million, up from $13.8 million a year ago. The company had $302 million shares outstanding as of Jun 30, 2018.

Outlook

Platform Specialty recently announced an agreement to divest its Agricultural Solutions segment for $4.2 billion in cash. The transaction is expected to complete in late 2018 or early next year.

The company now sees the Performance Solutions segment as a foundation of the new company and is preparing it for the next phase as Element Solutions Inc. The company expects Element Solutions to have an annualized adjusted EBITDA of $450-$470 million after realizing the expected benefit of $25 million in annualized run-rate cost savings that it expects to achieve next year. The company’s top priorities for the rest of the year are achieving these financial and operating results and finalizing its restructuring plans.

Platform Specialty has also reaffirmed its EBITDA guidance in the range of $870-$900 million for 2018.

Price Performance

Shares of Platform Specialty have lost 14.3% in a year’s time against the 2.9% gain of its industry.

Zacks Rank & Other Stocks to Consider

Platform Specialty currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
 
Other top-ranked stocks in the basic materials space are Celanese Corporation (CE - Free Report) , BHP Billiton Limited (BHP - Free Report) and Steel Dynamics Inc. (STLD - Free Report) .
 
Celanese has an expected long-term earnings growth rate of 10% and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). The company’s shares have moved up 17.3% in a year. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
 
BHP Billiton has an expected long-term earnings growth rate of 5.29% and has a Zacks Rank #1. Its shares have rallied roughly 20% in a year’s time.
 
Steel Dynamics has an expected long-term earnings growth rate of 12% and a Zacks Rank #2. The stock has gained 23.5% in the past year.

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