Alterra Capital Holdings Limited Beats on EPS But GAAP Results Lag

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Alterra Capital Holdings Limited (NAS: ALTE) reported earnings on Feb. 8. Here are the numbers you need to know.

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

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

Margins shrank across the board.

Revenue details
Alterra Capital Holdings Limited logged revenue of $400.0 million. The two analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ foresaw revenue of $417.6 million. GAAP sales were 3.1% lower than the prior-year quarter's $414.5 million.

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Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
Non-GAAP EPS came in at $0.47. The eight earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated $0.39 per share on the same basis. GAAP EPS of $0.30 for Q3 were 57% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.70 per share.

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Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 22.7%, 1,670 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 9.1%, 1,060 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 7.7%, 1,150 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $400.0 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.28.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $1.73 billion. The average EPS estimate is $0.87.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 66 members out of 73 rating the stock outperform, and seven members rating it underperform. Among 23 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 22 give Alterra Capital Holdings Limited a green thumbs-up, and one give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Alterra Capital Holdings Limited is outperform, with an average price target of $24.38.

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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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