Resolute Forest Products Beats Expectations But Takes A Step Back Anyway

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Resolute Forest Products (NYS: RFP) reported earnings on Feb. 12. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), Resolute Forest Products missed estimates on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue shrank slightly and GAAP loss per share increased.


Margins contracted across the board.

Revenue details
 Resolute Forest Products logged revenue of $1.13 billion. The one analyst polled by S&P Capital IQ wanted to see a top line of $1.16 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were the same as the prior-year quarter's.

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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 $0.35. The five earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated $0.21 per share. GAAP EPS were -$0.38 for Q4 compared to -$0.06 per share for the prior-year quarter.

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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 22.3%, 250 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was -4.7%, 1,050 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -3.2%, 270 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.13.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $4.66 billion. The average EPS estimate is $0.71.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 91 members out of 133 rating the stock outperform, and 42 members rating it underperform. Among 32 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 22 give Resolute Forest Products a green thumbs-up, and 10 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Resolute Forest Products is underperform, with an average price target of $13.21.

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The article Resolute Forest Products Beats Expectations But Takes A Step Back Anyway 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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