PPL Whiffs on Revenues

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

PPL (NYS: PPL) reported earnings on May 2. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), PPL whiffed on revenues and met expectations on earnings per share.

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


Margins increased across the board.

Revenue details
 PPL recorded revenue of $2.46 billion. The four analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ predicted net sales of $3.46 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 40% lower than the prior-year quarter's $4.11 billion.

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 $0.71. The 14 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ averaged $0.70 per share. Non-GAAP EPS of $0.71 for Q1 were 1.4% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.70 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.65 for Q1 were 30% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.93 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 43.7%, 940 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 28.2%, 250 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 16.8%, 360 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. (Margins calculated in GAAP terms.)

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $2.72 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.46.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $11.95 billion. The average EPS estimate is $2.36.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 411 members out of 425 rating the stock outperform, and 14 members rating it underperform. Among 95 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 93 give PPL 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 PPL is hold, with an average price target of $31.35.

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The article PPL Whiffs on Revenues 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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