NTELOS Holdings Goes Negative

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

NTELOS Holdings (NAS: NTLS) reported earnings on Feb. 29. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), NTELOS Holdings missed estimates on revenue and whiffed on earnings per share.

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

Margins shrank across the board.

Revenue details
NTELOS Holdings reported revenue of $106.0 million. The five analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ looked for net sales of $117.1 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 25% lower than the prior-year quarter's $141.5 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 $0.26. The four earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.42 per share on the same basis. GAAP EPS were -$2.86 for Q4 versus $0.40 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 65.8%, 110 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 12.7%, 850 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -57.1%, 6,320 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $107.7 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.28.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $438.5 million. The average EPS estimate is $1.32.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a five-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 121 members out of 126 rating the stock outperform, and five members rating it underperform. Among 34 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), all of them give NTELOS Holdings a green thumbs-up.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on NTELOS Holdings is outperform, with an average price target of $42.50.

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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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