Agrium Beats Estimates on Top and Bottom Lines

Updated

Agrium (NYS: AGU) reported earnings on Feb. 8. Here are the numbers you need to know.

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

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

Gross margins expanded, operating margins grew, and net margins contracted.

Revenue details
Agrium chalked up revenue of $3.18 billion. The 15 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ wanted to see a top line of $3.03 billion. GAAP sales were 35% higher than the prior-year quarter's $2.35 billion.

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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 $2.34. The 21 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $1.99 per share on the same basis. GAAP EPS of $1.20 for Q4 were 21% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.99 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 32.9%, 190 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 15.8%, 250 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 5.9%, 80 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $3.01 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $1.03.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $15.44 billion. The average EPS estimate is $9.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a five-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 1,714 members rating the stock outperform and 39 members rating it underperform. Among 422 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 414 give Agrium a green thumbs-up, and eight give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Agrium is outperform, with an average price target of $97.49.

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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