Milacron Holdings Corp. delivered third-quarter 2018 adjusted earnings per share of 43 cents ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 41 cents. On a year-over-year basis earnings declined 2%.

 

Including one-time items, the company reported earnings per share of 21 cents in the quarter under review, improving 24% from the year-ago quarter’s figure of 17 cents per share.

 

 

Milacron’s revenues fell 2% to $308 million from the year-ago quarter. Revenues fell short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $320 million. Excluding favorable effects of currency movements, organic sales decreased 0.3% from the prior-year quarter. New orders in the reported quarter declined 16% year over year to $270 million.

 

Cost of sales during the third quarter went down 5% year over year to $206 million from the prior-year quarter. Gross profit increased 4% year over year to $103 million, with gross margin expanding 190 basis points (bps) to 33.3%.

 

 

 

 

Advanced Plastic Processing Technologies: Net sales declined 5% year over year to $167 million. Excluding $1.5 million of favorable effects of currency movements, sales increased 2% from the prior-year quarter. Adjusted EBITDA dipped 2% year over year to $23 million.

 

Melt Delivery and Control Systems: Net sales inched up 1% year over year to $109 million. Excluding favorable influence of currency movements of $0.6 million, sales increased 2% from the prior-year period. Adjusted EBITDA remained flat year over year at $33 million.

 

Fluid Technologies: Net sales rose 6% year over year to $33 million. Sales improved 8% from the year-ago period, excluding $0.6 million of favorable effects of currency movements. Adjusted EBITDA increased 10% year over year to $7 million.

 

 

Milacron reported cash and cash equivalents of $150.3 million at the end of the reported quarter, down from $187.9 million at the end of 2017. The company generated $56 million of cash from operating activities during the nine-month period ended Sep 30, 2018, compared with $7 million reported in the comparable period last year. Long-term debt was $853 million as of Sep 30, 2018, compared with $926 million as of Dec 31, 2017.

 

 

Milacron projects sales growth at 2% for 2018, including an anticipated benefit of 1% from foreign currency translation. The company’s previous sales growth guidance was in the range of 2% to 4% for 2018. The company revised adjusted EBITDA guidance to $229-$231 million for the full year from the prior outlook of $237-$240 million. The company stated that the lowered guidance can primarily be attributed to the impact of tariffs on industry orders.

 

 

 

Shares of Milacron have dropped around 18% in the past year, compared with the industry’s decline of 19%.

 

 

Milacron currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).

 

Better-ranked stocks in the same industry include Donaldson Company, Inc. (DCI Quick QuoteDCI - Free Report) , Enersys (ENS Quick QuoteENS - Free Report) and Tetra Tech, Inc. (TTEK Quick QuoteTTEK - Free Report) . Donaldson Company and Enersys sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong buy), while Tetra Tech carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

 

Donaldson Company has a long-term earnings growth rate of 11.5%. The stock has gained around 8% in a year’s time.

 

Enersys has a long-term earnings growth rate of 10%. The company’s shares have gained 6% over the past year.

 

Tetra Tech has a long-term earnings growth rate of 14%. Its shares have rallied 35% in the past year.

 

 

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