CGG Veritas Whiffs on Earnings

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

CGG Veritas (NYS: CGV) reported earnings on Mar. 1. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), CGG Veritas met expectations on revenue and whiffed on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue dropped and GAAP earnings per share increased.

Gross margin contracted, operating margin dropped, and net margin grew.

Revenue details
CGG Veritas booked revenue of $860.1 million. The seven analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ predicted a top line of $855.1 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 4.6% lower than the prior-year quarter's $901.6 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
EPS came in at $0.10. The one earnings estimate compiled by S&P Capital IQ averaged $0.47 per share. GAAP EPS were $0.10 for Q4 against -$0.24 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 19.4%, 360 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 7.8%, 410 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 1.8%, 590 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $839.0 million.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $3.51 billion. The average EPS estimate is $1.95.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a five-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 509 members out of 519 rating the stock outperform, and 10 members rating it underperform. Among 187 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 186 give CGG Veritas a green thumbs-up, and one gives it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on CGG Veritas is outperform, with an average price target of $22.94.

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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. The Motley Fool owns shares of CGG Veritas. 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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