Actuant crashes as outlook misses expectations despite results beat

Actuant Corporation (ATU) topped market estimates on sales and earnings for the fourth quarter of 2018. However, the earnings outlook for the full year of 2019 came in short of expectations sending the shares crashing over 8% during pre-market hours. The stock is currently down over 7%.

The company posted a 9% increase in consolidated sales to $301 million versus the prior-year period, with a rise of 10% in core sales. The sales growth was driven by gains across the Industrial, Energy and Engineered Solutions segments.

Net loss was $37.7 million or $0.62 per share compared to $98.8 million or $1.65 per share in the prior-year period. Adjusted EPS came in at $0.39.

For the full year of 2019, Actuant expects sales to grow 3% to 5%, resulting in annual sales of $1.21 billion to $1.24 billion

Actuant saw sales increases across all its segments during the quarter. The Industrial segment delivered an 11% growth year-over-year helped by improvements in industrial tools, heavy lifting technology, and concrete tensioning products. Engineered Solutions posted a 5% growth versus last year.

The company stated that it is making progress on its portfolio management actions and has prepared its Cortland Fibron business for divestiture.

For the full year of 2019, Actuant expects sales to grow 3% to 5%, resulting in annual sales of $1.21 billion to $1.24 billion. Adjusted EPS is expected to be $1.09 to $1.20. For the first quarter of 2019, sales is expected to be $295 million to $305 million, and adjusted EPS is expected to be $0.20 to $0.25.