Zoltek Misses Where It Counts

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Zoltek (NAS: ZOLT) reported earnings on May 3. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended March 31 (Q2), Zoltek beat expectations on revenues and missed estimates on earnings per share.

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


Margins grew across the board.

Revenue details
Zoltek reported revenue of $47.0 million. The three analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected revenue of $44.7 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 27% higher than the prior-year quarter's $37.1 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 two earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ averaged $0.11 per share. GAAP EPS were $0.10 for Q2 compared to -$0.15 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 23.3%, 1,670 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 12.1%, 2,100 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 7.1%, 2,090 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $46.7 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.13.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $189.4 million. The average EPS estimate is $0.68.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 710 members out of 754 rating the stock outperform, and 44 members rating it underperform. Among 148 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 134 give Zoltek a green thumbs-up, and 14 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Zoltek is outperform, with an average price target of $17.00.

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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. He is the 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 don't 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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