Sucampo Pharmaceuticals Increases Sales but Misses Estimates on Earnings

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Sucampo Pharmaceuticals (NAS: SCMP) reported earnings on March 13. Here are the numbers you need to know.

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

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

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

Revenue details
Sucampo Pharmaceuticals reported revenue of $12.4 million. The one analyst polled by S&P Capital IQ expected to see sales of $15.5 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 15% higher than the prior-year quarter's $12.4 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 -$0.15. The one earnings estimate compiled by S&P Capital IQ averaged -$0.01 per share on the same basis. GAAP EPS were $0.06 for Q4 versus -$0.07 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 46.1%, 4,620 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was -52.7%, 4,410 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 19.0%, 4,240 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next year's average estimate for revenue is $55.0 million.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 62 members out of 72 rating the stock outperform, and 10 members rating it underperform. Among 15 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 13 give Sucampo Pharmaceuticals a green thumbs-up, and two 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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