QR Energy Crushes Earnings Estimates

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

QR Energy (NYS: QRE) reported earnings on March 6. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), QR Energy crushed expectations on revenues and crushed expectations on earnings per share.

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


Margins shrank across the board.

Revenue details
 QR Energy chalked up revenue of $97.4 million. The nine analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected revenue of $76.2 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 42% lower than the prior-year quarter's $168.7 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 $2.21. The 13 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ forecast $0.23 per share. Non-GAAP EPS of $2.21 for Q4 were 325% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.52 per share. GAAP EPS were $0.24 for Q4 compared to -$1.30 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 59.1%, 560 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 15.2%, much worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 2.0%, much worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $99.4 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.33.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $420.6 million. The average EPS estimate is $1.44.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 94 members out of 98 rating the stock outperform, and four members rating it underperform. Among 40 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 40 give QR Energy 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 QR Energy is outperform, with an average price target of $21.05.

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The article QR Energy 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 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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