Air Methods Outruns Estimates Again

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Air Methods (NAS: AIRM) reported earnings on May 3. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), Air Methods beat expectations on revenues and crushed expectations on earnings per share.

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


Margins expanded across the board.

Revenue details
Air Methods reported revenue of $190.8 million. The four analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected a top line of $182.6 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 45% higher than the prior-year quarter's $131.9 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 $0.97. The three earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.69 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.97 for Q1 were 116% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.45 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 37.1%, 130 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 13.1%, 370 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 6.5%, 220 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $209.7 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $1.56.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $817.9 million. The average EPS estimate is $5.55.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 194 members out of 212 rating the stock outperform, and 18 members rating it underperform. Among 57 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 55 give Air Methods a green thumbs-up, and two give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Air Methods is buy, with an average price target of $104.33.

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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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