Niska Gas Storage Partners Beats on the Top Line

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Niska Gas Storage Partners (NYS: NKA) reported earnings on Jan. 31. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q3), Niska Gas Storage Partners crushed expectations on revenues and missed expectations on earnings per share.

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


Gross margins contracted, operating margins shrank, net margins grew.

Revenue details
 Niska Gas Storage Partners logged revenue of $73.8 million. The seven analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated revenue of $54.1 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 17% lower than the prior-year quarter's $89.3 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 -$0.24. The six earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated -$0.03 per share. GAAP EPS were $0.15 for Q3 versus -$3.07 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 88.7%, 40 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 57.2%, 1,420 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 14.1%, 25,330 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $54.4 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.01.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $176.8 million. The average EPS estimate is $0.42.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a five-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 126 members out of 134 rating the stock outperform, and eight members rating it underperform. Among 44 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 42 give Niska Gas Storage Partners a green thumbs-up, and two give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Niska Gas Storage Partners is underperform, with an average price target of $10.92.

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The article Niska Gas Storage Partners Beats on the Top Line 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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