Kronos Worldwide Crushes Earnings Estimates

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Kronos Worldwide (NYS: KRO) reported earnings on Mar. 6. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), Kronos Worldwide missed estimates on revenues and crushed expectations on earnings per share.

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

Margins improved across the board.

Revenue details
Kronos Worldwide reported revenue of $437.4 million. The four analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected a top line of $448.7 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 17% higher than the prior-year quarter's $373.3 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 $0.74. The four earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.50 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.74 for Q4 were 124% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.33 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 44.4%, 1,670 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 32.4%, 1,640 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 19.6%, 980 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $554.0 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.56.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $2.49 billion. The average EPS estimate is $2.76.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a five-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 137 members out of 153 rating the stock outperform, and 16 members rating it underperform. Among 41 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 35 give Kronos Worldwide a green thumbs-up, and six give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Kronos Worldwide is outperform, with an average price target of $27.67.

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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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