Great Plains Energy Whiffs on Earnings

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Great Plains Energy (NYS: GXP) reported earnings on Tuesday. Here are the numbers you need to know.

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

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

Gross margins dropped, operating margins increased, and net margins improved.

Revenue details
Great Plains Energy booked revenue of $486.3 million. The two analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ predicted a top line of $476.3 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 4.0% higher than the prior-year quarter's $467.8 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 $0.01. The seven earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ averaged $0.03 per share. GAAP EPS were $0.01 for Q4 against -$0.04 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 34.1%, 140 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 12.4%, 560 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 0.4%, 140 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $503.3 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.03.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $2.35 billion. The average EPS estimate is $1.30.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 151 members rating the stock outperform and 19 members rating it underperform. Among 61 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 56 give Great Plains Energy a green thumbs-up, and five give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Great Plains Energy is hold, with an average price target of $20.67.

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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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