TransAlta Goes Negative

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

TransAlta (NYS: TAC) reported earnings on Aug. 1. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended June 30 (Q2), TransAlta whiffed on revenues and missed expectations on earnings per share.

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


Margins contracted across the board.

Revenue details
TransAlta reported revenue of $399.0 million. The three analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ hoped for sales of $537.3 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 25% lower than the prior-year quarter's $534.0 million.

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 eight earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated -$0.06 per share. GAAP EPS were -$3.44 for Q2 versus $0.06 per share for the prior-year quarter.

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 28.7%, 990 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was -6.6%, 2,140 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -194.3%, 19,720 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $606.7 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.24.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $2.44 billion. The average EPS estimate is $0.73.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a five-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 81 members out of 85 rating the stock outperform, and four members rating it underperform. Among 19 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 18 give TransAlta a green thumbs-up, and one gives it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on TransAlta is hold, with an average price target of $21.96.

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The article TransAlta Goes Negative originally appeared on Fool.com.

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. The Motley Fool has no positions in the stocks mentioned above. 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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