Capital Product Partners Increases Sales but Misses Estimates on Earnings

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Capital Product Partners (NAS: CPLP) reported earnings on Jan. 31. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), Capital Product Partners beat expectations on revenues and missed expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue grew significantly and GAAP earnings per share shrank significantly.

Margins dropped across the board.

Revenue details
Capital Product Partners recorded revenue of $44.0 million. The five analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ looked for sales of $41.7 million. Sales were 52% higher than the prior-year quarter's $29.0 million.

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Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions.

EPS details
EPS came in at $0.02. The five earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ averaged $0.06 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.02 for Q4 were 67% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.06 per share.

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Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Figures may be non-GAAP to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 53.0%, 1,560 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 19.7%, 1,650 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 2.4%, 580 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $40.0 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.05.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $160.0 million. The average EPS estimate is $0.22.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 156 members out of 165 rating the stock outperform, and nine members rating it underperform. Among 52 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 50 give Capital Product Partners a green thumbs-up, and two give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Capital Product Partners is outperform, with an average price target of $7.80.

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At the time thisarticle was published Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned here at the time of publication. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor ofMotley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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