LAN Airlines Increases Sales but Misses Estimates on Earnings

Updated

LAN Airlines (NYS: LFL) reported earnings on May 14. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), LAN Airlines met expectations on revenues and missed estimates on earnings per share.

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


Margins contracted across the board.

Revenue details
LAN Airlines booked revenue of $1.54 billion. The five analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ foresaw a top line of $1.55 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 14% higher than the prior-year quarter's $1.32 billion.

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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 $0.22. The five earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated $0.24 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.22 for Q1 were 24% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.29 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 25.7%, 240 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 7.4%, 420 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 5.1%, 220 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $1.48 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.13.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $6.51 billion. The average EPS estimate is $1.27.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a two-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 233 members out of 278 rating the stock outperform, and 45 members rating it underperform. Among 78 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 66 give LAN Airlines a green thumbs-up, and 12 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on LAN Airlines is hold, with an average price target of $30.16.

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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