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Ultra Clean (UCTT) Q4 Earnings Top Estimates, Revenues Up Y/Y

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Ultra Clean Holdings (UCTT - Free Report) reported fourth-quarter 2020 adjusted earnings of 81 cents per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 15.7%. The company had posted adjusted earnings of 40 cents per share in the year-ago period.

Revenues of $369.6 million beat the consensus mark by 1.2%. Moreover, the figure jumped 29.05% year over year.

Contributions from a robust portfolio of semiconductor products and services were a major growth driver in the fourth quarter.

Also, the top line benefited from the robust adoption of technology that supports 5G wireless, high-performance cloud computing, IoT and AI, which has further accelerated on the ongoing digital transformation. In addition, continued momentum in foundry and logic, along with higher demand in memory, was a key positive.

 

Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc. Quote

Quarter Details

Product Revenues (81% of total revenues) jumped 30.1% to $299.5 million and Services Revenues (19% of total revenues) climbed 24.8% to $70.1 million, year on year.

This upswing was primarily driven by the elevated demand for the company’s product offerings from its existing customer base.

Gross profit on a non-GAAP basis grew 36.5% year over year to $79.6 million from the year-ago quarter’s $58.3 million. Additionally, the gross margin expanded 118 basis points (bps) year over year to 21.5%

Selling and marketing expenses flared up 14.1% year over year to $6.6 million. Research and development expenses shot up 9.8% year on year to $4 million. However, general and administrative expenses declined 20.2% year over year to $33.9 million.

Ultra Clean reported a non-GAAP operating income of $43.9 million compared with the non-GAAP operating income of $26.7 million seen in the year-ago quarter. Further, the operating margin expanded 254 bps year over year to 11.9% on efficient expense management.

Balance Sheet and Cash Flows

As of Dec 25, 2020, the company had cash & cash equivalents of $200.3 million compared with $176.1 million, of Sep 25, 2020.

Cash flow from operations was $97.3 million, lower than the year-ago quarter’s reported figure of $121 million.

Guidance

Ultra Clean projects first-quarter 2021 revenues between $375 million and $405 million. Adjusted earnings are estimated in the band of 80-93 cents per share.

The company expects steady demand for wafer fabrication equipment, along with growing adoption of its semiconductor products and services, to continue boosting growth prospects.

Apart from this, Ultra Clean’s acquisition of Ham-Let (Israel-Canada), which is likely to close in the early part of second quarter, expands its semiconductor addressable market by more than $2 billion. The buyout is likely to widen its customer base by adding new customers in the semiconductor fab infrastructure and sub-fab market, thereby aiding the top line over the long haul.

Zacks Rank & Other Key Picks

Ultra Clean currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Other top-ranked stocks in the broader technology sector are Zoom Video Communications (ZM - Free Report) , United States Cellular (USM - Free Report) and Magnite (MGNI - Free Report) . Zoom and United States Cellular flaunt a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), while Magnite carries Zacks Rank of 2, currently. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

United States Cellular, Magnite and Zoom are scheduled to report their quarterly numbers on Feb 19, Feb 24 and Mar 1, respectively.

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