Atlantic Power Goes Red

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Atlantic Power (NYS: AT) reported earnings on Feb. 29. Here are the numbers you need to know.

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

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

Margins shrank across the board.

Revenue details
 Atlantic Power booked revenue of $125.6 million. The two analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ predicted sales of $114.3 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were much higher than the prior-year quarter's $46.1 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 -$0.26. The one earnings estimate compiled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated $0.35 per share on the same basis. GAAP EPS were -$0.29 for Q4 against $0.02 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 38.6%, 870 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was -18.0%, 4,540 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -23.7%, 2,650 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is -$0.01.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $680.4 million. The average EPS estimate is -$0.03.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 72 members out of 75 rating the stock outperform, and three members rating it underperform. Among 15 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 14 give Atlantic Power a green thumbs-up, and one give it a red thumbs-down.

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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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