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Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation, which operates as Wabtec Corporation (WAB - Free Report) , reported second-quarter 2019 earnings (excluding 52 cents from non-recurring items) of $1.06 per share. The bottom line handsomely beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 98 cents and improved 10.4% year over year. Results were aided by a strong operating performance.
Total sales jumped more than 100% year over year to $2,236.3 million but fell short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2,257.1 million. The substantial year over year increase in sales was due to the inclusion of GE Transportation products. We remind investors that Wabtec’s merger with GE Transportation was completed in February 2019. Following the completion of the transaction, Wabtec was included in the coveted S&P 500 index.
Total operating expenses in the reported quarter increased in excess of 100% to $414,039 million, primarily due to a 70% rise in selling, general and administrative expenses. Also, the operating ratio (operating expenses as a percentage of revenues) deteriorated to 18.5% from 18% in the prior-year period. Notably, lower the value of the metric the better.
Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
At the Transit segment, net sales climbed 6% to $742.33 million driven by organic sales growth and acquisitions. Segmental operating margin (income from operations as a percentage of sales) increased to 9.6% from 8.3% in the year-ago quarter.
Freight net sales jumped 262% to $1.49 billion despite organic sales decrease and unfavorable foreign currency related movements. Segmental sales were boosted by acquisitions of $1.1 billion. Segmental operating margin declined to 10.2% from 20.5% in the year-ago quarter.
Liquidity
As of Jun 30, 2019, Wabtec had $461.37 million in cash and cash equivalents compared with $580.91 million at the end of 2018. Long-term debt at the quarter-end was $4.53 billion compared with $3.79 billion at 2018 end.
2019 View
Wabtec, carrying a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), now anticipates sales of $8.3 billion for the current year (earlier view: $8.4 billion). Adjusted earnings are now expected to be between $4.10 and $4.20 per share (earlier guidance: $4 and $4.20). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the same stands at $4.16, above the mid-point ($4.15) of the guided range. Adjusted EBITDA and income from operations is estimated at $1.6 billion and $1.2 billion, respectively. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Upcoming Releases
Investors interested in the Zacks Transportation sector are keenly awaiting second-quarter earnings reports from key players, such as SkyWest (SKYW - Free Report) , GOL Linhas and Air Lease Corp. (AL - Free Report) . While SkyWest will report second-quarter earnings on Jul 31, GOL Linhas and Air Lease will announce the same on Aug 1 and Aug 8 respectively.
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Wabtec's (WAB) Q2 Earnings Surpass Estimates, Improve Y/Y
Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation, which operates as Wabtec Corporation (WAB - Free Report) , reported second-quarter 2019 earnings (excluding 52 cents from non-recurring items) of $1.06 per share. The bottom line handsomely beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 98 cents and improved 10.4% year over year. Results were aided by a strong operating performance.
Total sales jumped more than 100% year over year to $2,236.3 million but fell short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2,257.1 million. The substantial year over year increase in sales was due to the inclusion of GE Transportation products. We remind investors that Wabtec’s merger with GE Transportation was completed in February 2019. Following the completion of the transaction, Wabtec was included in the coveted S&P 500 index.
Total operating expenses in the reported quarter increased in excess of 100% to $414,039 million, primarily due to a 70% rise in selling, general and administrative expenses. Also, the operating ratio (operating expenses as a percentage of revenues) deteriorated to 18.5% from 18% in the prior-year period. Notably, lower the value of the metric the better.
Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation Quote
Segmental Highlights
At the Transit segment, net sales climbed 6% to $742.33 million driven by organic sales growth and acquisitions. Segmental operating margin (income from operations as a percentage of sales) increased to 9.6% from 8.3% in the year-ago quarter.
Freight net sales jumped 262% to $1.49 billion despite organic sales decrease and unfavorable foreign currency related movements. Segmental sales were boosted by acquisitions of $1.1 billion. Segmental operating margin declined to 10.2% from 20.5% in the year-ago quarter.
Liquidity
As of Jun 30, 2019, Wabtec had $461.37 million in cash and cash equivalents compared with $580.91 million at the end of 2018. Long-term debt at the quarter-end was $4.53 billion compared with $3.79 billion at 2018 end.
2019 View
Wabtec, carrying a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), now anticipates sales of $8.3 billion for the current year (earlier view: $8.4 billion). Adjusted earnings are now expected to be between $4.10 and $4.20 per share (earlier guidance: $4 and $4.20). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the same stands at $4.16, above the mid-point ($4.15) of the guided range. Adjusted EBITDA and income from operations is estimated at $1.6 billion and $1.2 billion, respectively. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Upcoming Releases
Investors interested in the Zacks Transportation sector are keenly awaiting second-quarter earnings reports from key players, such as SkyWest (SKYW - Free Report) , GOL Linhas and Air Lease Corp. (AL - Free Report) . While SkyWest will report second-quarter earnings on Jul 31, GOL Linhas and Air Lease will announce the same on Aug 1 and Aug 8 respectively.
Today's Best Stocks from Zacks
Would you like to see the updated picks from our best market-beating strategies? From 2017 through 2018, while the S&P 500 gained +15.8%, five of our screens returned +38.0%, +61.3%, +61.6%, +68.1%, and +98.3%.
This outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon. From 2000 – 2018, while the S&P averaged +4.8% per year, our top strategies averaged up to +56.2% per year.
See their latest picks free >>