Matthews International Misses Where it Counts

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Matthews International (NAS: MATW) reported earnings on Jan. 17. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q1), Matthews International beat expectations on revenues and missed estimates on earnings per share.

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


Margins contracted across the board.

Revenue details
 Matthews International logged revenue of $225.6 million. The four analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ hoped for net sales of $220.5 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 3.9% higher than the prior-year quarter's $217.2 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 $0.42. The three earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.46 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.30 for Q1 were 25% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.40 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 35.4%, 50 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 7.3%, 140 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 3.7%, 150 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $240.4 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.62.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $950.8 million. The average EPS estimate is $2.51.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a five-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 85 members out of 85 rating the stock outperform, and members rating it underperform. Among 34 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 34 give Matthews International a green thumbs-up, and give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Matthews International is outperform, with an average price target of $37.67.

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The article Matthews International Misses Where it Counts 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 position in any of the stocks mentioned. 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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