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Itron (ITRI) Q4 Earnings & Revenues Beat Estimates, Down Y/Y

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Itron Inc (ITRI - Free Report) reported non-GAAP earnings of 71 cents per share in fourth-quarter 2022, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 10 cents. The bottom line declined 5% year over year.

Revenues were $467.5 million, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 6.8%. However, the top line declined 4% (flat on a constant-currency basis) year over year.

The top-line performance was affected by the sale of the C&I gas business partly offset by higher sales in the Network Solutions and Outcomes segments.

Product revenues were $392.7 million (84% of total revenues), down 4.8% year over year. Service revenues totaled $74.7 million (16% of total revenues), up 2.5% from the year-ago quarter’s levels.

The company’s bookings were $898 million and the backlog totaled $4.6 billion at the end of the reported quarter. The company is also undertaking extensive restructuring efforts to cut down on overhead expenses and streamline its supply chain and manufacturing operations

Itron, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Itron, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Itron, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Itron, Inc. Quote

Segments in Detail

Device Solutions: The company generated revenues of $100 million (21.5% of total revenues) from the segment, down 36% from the year-ago quarter due to product pruning and sale of the company’s C&I gas business.

Networked Solutions: Revenues from the segment were $301 million (64.4% of total revenues), up 14% year over year, driven by ramp of new and existing deployments.

Outcomes: The segment generated revenues of $66 million (14.1% of total revenues), up 4% on a year-over-year basis due to higher software license and product sales partly offset by EMEA prepay business.

Operating Details

Itron’s gross margin in the fourth quarter was 30.1%, which expanded 510 basis points on a year-over-year basis. The uptick was caused by favorable mix partly offset by higher component costs.

Non-GAAP operating expenses were $115.5 million, down 9.7% year over year.

Non-GAAP operating income was $25.3 million against the non-GAAP operating loss of $6.6 million driven by higher gross profit and lower non-GAAP operating expenses.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flows

As of Dec 31, 2022, cash and cash equivalents totaled $202 million, down from $215.4 million as of Sep 30, 2022. Accounts receivables were $280.4 million, up from $266.7 million in the prior quarter.

As of Dec 31, 2022, net long-term debt was $452.5 million compared with $451.9 million as of Sep 30, 2022.

Itron used $13 million of cash from operations in the reported quarter against the $13.6 million of cash generated in the prior-year quarter.

The company had a free cash outflow of $17.9 million in the reported quarter against the free cash flow of $6.7 million in the prior-year quarter.

Guidance

The company expects component supply to be constrained in near term but expects supply environment to gradually start improving as the year progresses. For the first quarter, the company expects revenues to be between $460 million and $475 million.

Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share are expected in the range of 5-15 cents.

For 2023, the company expects revenues to be between $1.85 billion and $1.95 billion. Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share are expected to be between 70 cents and $1.10.

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

Currently, Itron has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the broader technology space are Arista Networks (ANET - Free Report) , Perion Network (PERI - Free Report) and Pegasystems (PEGA - Free Report) , each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), presently. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Arista Networks’ 2023 earnings is pegged at $5.76 per share, up 11% in the past 60 days. The long-term earnings growth rate is anticipated to be 14.2%.

Arista Networks’ earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in all the past four quarters, the average being 14.2%. Shares of ANET have improved 17% in the past year.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Perion’s 2023 earnings is pegged at $2.69 per share, up 16% in the past 60 days. The long-term earnings growth rate is anticipated to be 25%.

Perion’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in all the last four quarters, the average being 31.7%. Shares of PERI have gained 50.8% in the past year.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Pegasystems’ 2023 earnings is pegged at $1.31 per share, rising 111% in the past 60 days.

Pegasystems’ earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in two of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 11.2%. Shares of PEGA have declined 45.8% in the past year.

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