MEMC Electronic Materials Goes Negative

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

MEMC Electronic Materials (NYS: WFR) reported earnings on Feb. 15. Here are the numbers you need to know.

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

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

Margins dropped across the board.

Revenue details
MEMC Electronic Materials logged revenue of $717.8 million. The 13 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ wanted to see a top line of $770.6 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 16% lower than the prior-year quarter's $850.1 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 -$0.09. The 15 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted -$0.16 per share on the same basis. GAAP EPS were -$6.44 for Q4 compared to $0.05 per share for the prior-year quarter.

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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 5.3%, 830 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was -9.3%, 1,220 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -206.8%, 20,830 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $489.7 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is -$0.16.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $2.67 billion. The average EPS estimate is $0.21.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 1,864 members out of 1,933 rating the stock outperform, and 69 members rating it underperform. Among 468 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 452 give MEMC Electronic Materials a green thumbs-up, and 16 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on MEMC Electronic Materials is hold, with an average price target of $6.44.

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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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