Alliant Techsystems Crushes Earnings Estimates

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Alliant Techsystems (NYS: ATK) reported earnings on Nov. 1. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended Sep. 30 (Q2), Alliant Techsystems beat expectations on revenues and crushed expectations on earnings per share.

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


Margins shrank across the board.

Revenue details
 Alliant Techsystems notched revenue of $1.07 billion. The 11 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected net sales of $990.1 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 3.6% lower than the prior-year quarter's $1.11 billion.

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 $1.86. The nine earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ averaged $1.45 per share. GAAP EPS of $2.00 for Q2 were 18% lower than the prior-year quarter's $2.43 per share.

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 21.3%, 220 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 10.3%, 300 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 6.1%, 110 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $992.6 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $1.67.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $4.14 billion. The average EPS estimate is $7.10.

Investor sentiment

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Alliant Techsystems is hold, with an average price target of $57.09.

The article Alliant Techsystems Crushes Earnings Estimates 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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