Patriot Coal Goes Red

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Patriot Coal (NYS: PCX) reported earnings today. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), Patriot Coal missed estimates on revenues and missed expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue increased and GAAP earnings per share contracted to a loss.

Margins shrank across the board.

Revenue details
Patriot Coal logged revenue of $603.9 million. The eight analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ predicted a top line of $643.4 million. Sales were 14% higher than the prior-year quarter's $528.2 million.

anImage
anImage

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

EPS details
Non-GAAP EPS came in at -$0.37. The 14 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted -$0.30 per share on the same basis. GAAP EPS were -$0.42 for Q4 against $0.08 per share for the prior-year quarter.

anImage
anImage

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 6.3%, 120 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was -5.7%, 830 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -6.3%, 770 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $615.9 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is -$0.13.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $2.56 billion. The average EPS estimate is -$0.25.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 840 members rating the stock outperform, and 39 members rating it underperform. Among CAPS All-Stars (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 224 give Patriot Coal a green thumbs-up, and six give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Patriot Coal is hold, with an average price target of $15.23.

Is Patriot Coal the right energy stock for you? Read about a handful of timely, profit-producing plays on expensive crude in "3 Stocks for $100 Oil." Click here for instant access to this free report.

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.

Copyright © 1995 - 2012 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Advertisement