Aircastle LTD Crushes Estimates

Updated

Aircastle LTD (NYS: AYR) reported earnings on Feb. 29. Here are the numbers you need to know.

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

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

Margins expanded across the board.

Revenue details
Aircastle LTD reported revenue of $156.9 million. The eight analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ predicted revenue of $150.3 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 11% higher than the prior-year quarter's $140.8 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
Non-GAAP EPS came in at $0.43. The nine earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated $0.27 per share on the same basis. GAAP EPS of $0.49 for Q4 were 88% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.26 per share.

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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 98.5%, 50 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 51.7%, 630 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 22.7%, 830 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $155.5 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.30.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $628.4 million. The average EPS estimate is $1.33.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 511 members out of 546 rating the stock outperform, and 35 members rating it underperform. Among 183 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 175 give Aircastle LTD a green thumbs-up, and eight give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Aircastle LTD is outperform, with an average price target of $14.96.

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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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