Willbros Group Misses Where It Counts

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Willbros Group (NYS: WG) reported earnings on May 7. Here are the numbers you need to know.

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

Compared with the prior-year quarter, revenue increased slightly and GAAP loss per share shrank.


Gross margins contracted, operating margins expanded, net margins increased.

Revenue details
Willbros Group recorded revenue of $419.1 million. The six analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ hoped for revenue of $400.4 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 27% higher than the prior-year quarter's $328.9 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 -$0.43. The six earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted -$0.25 per share. GAAP EPS were -$0.43 for Q1 versus -$0.96 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 -2.5%, 640 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was -2.5%, 690 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -4.9%, 880 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $471.2 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.13.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $1.82 billion. The average EPS estimate is $0.19.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 258 members out of 273 rating the stock outperform, and 15 members rating it underperform. Among 57 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 52 give Willbros Group a green thumbs-up, and five give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Willbros Group is hold, with an average price target of $7.08.

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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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