Green Plains Renewable Energy Posts a Surprise Profit

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Green Plains Renewable Energy (NAS: GPRE) reported earnings on April 30. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), Green Plains Renewable Energy missed estimates on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue shrank slightly. GAAP earnings per share grew.


Margins expanded across the board.

Revenue details
 Green Plains Renewable Energy booked revenue of $765.5 million. The five analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ foresaw revenue of $789.1 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were the same as the prior-year quarter's.

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 $0.08. The seven earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted -$0.07 per share. GAAP EPS were $0.08 for Q1 against -$0.39 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 3.6%, 250 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 1.7%, 310 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 0.3%, 190 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. (Margins calculated in GAAP terms.)

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $809.4 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.04.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $3.22 billion. The average EPS estimate is $0.51.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a two-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 86 members out of 139 rating the stock outperform, and 53 members rating it underperform. Among 39 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 20 give Green Plains Renewable Energy a green thumbs-up, and 19 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Green Plains Renewable Energy is outperform, with an average price target of $11.33.

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The article Green Plains Renewable Energy Posts a Surprise Profit 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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