Acuity Brands Beats on Both Top and Bottom Lines

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Acuity Brands (NYS: AYI) reported earnings on April 3. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended Feb. 28 (Q2), Acuity Brands beat expectations on revenues and beat slightly on earnings per share.

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


Gross margins contracted, operating margins dropped, net margins expanded.

Revenue details
 Acuity Brands reported revenue of $486.7 million. The 14 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ predicted net sales of $469.2 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 6.3% higher than the prior-year quarter's $457.7 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 $0.62. The 14 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated $0.61 per share. Non-GAAP EPS of $0.62 for Q2 were 8.8% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.57 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.57 for Q2 were 24% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.46 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 39.0%, 70 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 9.3%, 70 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 5.1%, 80 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. (Margins calculated in GAAP terms.)

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $513.5 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.88.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $2.02 billion. The average EPS estimate is $3.25.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a five-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 194 members out of 209 rating the stock outperform, and 15 members rating it underperform. Among 77 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 74 give Acuity Brands a green thumbs-up, and three give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Acuity Brands is hold, with an average price target of $66.25.

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The article Acuity Brands Beats on Both Top and Bottom Lines 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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