Progress Energy Goes Negative

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Progress Energy (NYS: PGN) reported earnings on Feb. 16. Here are the numbers you need to know.

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

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

Margins contracted across the board.

Revenue details
Progress Energy booked revenue of $1.74 billion. The six analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ predicted revenue of $2.43 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 25% lower than the prior-year quarter's $2.32 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 $0.39. The 13 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ forecast $0.53 per share on the same basis. GAAP EPS were -$0.26 for Q4 compared to $0.43 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 19.6%, 1,510 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 1.1%, 1,470 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -4.4%, 980 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $2.31 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.68.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $9.95 billion. The average EPS estimate is $3.19.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 274 members rating the stock outperform and 29 members rating it underperform. Among 90 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 86 give Progress Energy a green thumbs-up, and four give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Progress Energy is hold, with an average price target of $51.50.

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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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