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Eaton (ETN) Q1 Earnings Beat Estimates, 2019 Guidance Up

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Eaton Corporation (ETN - Free Report) reported first-quarter 2019 earnings of $1.26 per share, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.25 by 0.8%. The reported earnings were at the higher end of management’s guided range of $1.18-$1.28 per share. Moreover, the bottom line marked a 14.5% improvement from the year-ago level.    

Revenues

Total revenues in the quarter came in at $5,305 million, lagging the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $5,397 million by 1.7%. However, quarterly revenues were 1.1% higher than the year-ago quarter.

The year-over-year revenue increase, which includes 4% organic sales growth, was partially offset by a 3% negative impact from currency translation.

Eaton Corporation, PLC Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Eaton Corporation, PLC Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | Eaton Corporation, PLC Quote

Segment Details

Electrical Products’ total first-quarter sales were $1,760 million, up 2% from the year-ago level. Organic sales, up 5% from the prior-year quarter, were negatively impacted by 3% due to currency translation. Operating income was $332 million, up 8% year over year.

Electrical Systems and Services’ total sales were $1,464 million, up 6% from the year-ago quarter. Organic sales, up 8% from the year-ago quarter, were negatively impacted by 2% due to currency translation. Operating income in the quarter was $192 million, up 15% year over year.

Hydraulics total sales were $686 million, down 3% from the year-ago quarter. Organic sales, up 1% from a year ago, were negatively impacted by 4% due to currency translation. Operating income in the quarter was $80 million, down 11% year over year.

Aerospace total sales were $502 million, up 10% from the year-ago quarter due to 11% organic sales growth. Additionally, operating income in the quarter was $116 million, up 30% year over year.

Vehicle total sales were $810 million, down 9% from the year-ago quarter, owing to a decline in organic sales and negative currency translation. Moreover, operating income in the quarter was $122 million, down 8% year over year.

eMobility segment’s total sales were $83 million, up 8% from the year-ago quarter. Organic sales, up 9% from the prior-year level, were negatively impacted by 1% due to currency translation. Operating income in the quarter was $5 million, down 55% year over year, primarily due to higher spending on research and development activities.

Quarterly Highlights

Segment margins in the reported quarter were 16%, up 80 basis points from the year-ago level.

Cost of products sold in the reported quarter was $3,573 million, in line with the year-ago figure.

Selling and administrative expenses were $917 million, up 3.1% from the year-ago quarter.

The company’s research and development expenses in the first quarter were $156 million, in line with the prior-year period. Interest expenses of $66 million were down 5.7% from the prior-year quarter.

Orders in Electrical Products, Electrical Systems and Services, and Aerospace were up 4%, 8% and 18% year over year, respectively. On the contrary, Hydraulics’ orders were down 11% year over year due to weakness in the global mobile equipment market.

The company repurchased shares worth $150 million in the reported quarter and raised its quarterly dividend by 8%.

Financial Update

Eaton’s cash & cash equivalents were $303 million as of Mar 31, 2019 compared with $283 million on Dec 31, 2018.

As of Mar 31, 2019, long-term debt of the company was $6,782 million, up marginally from $6,768 million on Dec 31, 2018.

Guidance

Second-quarter 2019 earnings per share are expected between $1.45 and $1.55.

The company expects 2019 earnings within $5.72-$6.02, up from the prior range of $5.70-$6.00 per share, with organic growth expectation of 4%. Segment operating margin for 2019 is expected within 17.1-17.5%, up from the prior guided range of 17-17.4%.

Eaton has plans to repurchase shares worth $400 million in 2019.

Zacks Rank

Currently, Eaton has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Upcoming Releases

Emerson Electric Co. (EMR - Free Report) is slated to announce second-quarter fiscal 2019 earnings on May 7. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter is pegged at 84 cents.

Regal Beloit Corporation (RBC - Free Report) is slated to announce first-quarter 2019 earnings on May 7. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter to be reported is pegged at $1.41.

Enersys (ENS - Free Report) is scheduled to report fiscal fourth-quarter 2019 earnings on May 15. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the to-be-reported quarter is pegged at $1.42 per share.

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