Allegion (ALLE) Q4 Earnings Beat Estimates, Revenues In Line
Allegion plc ALLE reported impressive results for fourth-quarter 2018, wherein its adjusted earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate and revenues matched the same.
Earnings/Revenues
Quarterly adjusted earnings came in at $1.22 per share, outpacing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.21. The bottom line was also 9.9% higher than the year-ago figure. The upside can be primarily attributed to impressive sales growth and improved operating income.
For full-year 2018, Allegion’s adjusted earnings came in at $4.50 per share, up 13.6% on a year-over-year basis.
Revenues for the reported quarter came in at $702.4 million, up 12.7% year over year. Notably, the top line matched the consensus estimate. Revenues improved 6.7% on an organic basis. The stellar performance was backed by solid end-market sales and acquisition benefits in the reported quarter, partially offset by adverse impacts of unfavorable foreign exchange movements.
Allegion PLC Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Allegion PLC Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | Allegion PLC Quote
For 2018, Allegion reported revenues of $2,731.7 million, up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis.
Segmental Break-Up
Revenues in the Americas segment rose 13% year over year to $492.7 million. The EMEIA (Europe, Middle East, India and Africa) segment’s revenues increased 4.4% to $157.4 million. Revenues in the Asia-Pacific segment surged 44.9% to $52.3 million in the reported quarter.
Costs/Margins
In the fourth quarter, Allegion’s cost of sales escalated 15.8% year over year to $401.9 million. Gross profit grew 8.9% while gross margin shrunk 150 basis points (bps) to 42.8%.
Selling and administrative expenses jumped 9.6% year over year to $159.1 million.
Adjusted operating margin contracted 90 bps to 20.1%.
Balance Sheet/Cash Flow
As of Dec 31, 2018, Allegion had cash and cash equivalents of $283.8 million, down from $466.2 recorded as of Dec 31 2017. Long-term debt was $1,409.5 million, down from $1,442.3 million recorded in 2017-end.
In 2018, the company generated net cash of $457.8 million from its operating activities, surging 31.9% from the previous year. Capital expenditures totaled $49.1 million against $49.3 million used in the last year.
2019 Guidance
Adjusted earnings per share are now expected in the range of $4.75 to $4.90, reflecting an increase of 6% to 9% year over year.
The company expects full-year 2019 revenue growth on both reported and organic basis in the band of 5-6%.
Full-year adjusted effective tax rate is anticipated to be 16%.
Available cash flow is targeted to be approximately $430-$450 million.
Zacks Rank & Key Picks
Allegion currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked stocks in the same space are Axon Enterprise, Inc AAXN, Alarm.com Holdings, Inc. ALRM and Brady Corporation BRC. While Axon Enterprise and Alarm.com Holdings sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Brady carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Axon Enterprise delivered average earnings surprise of 391.67% in the trailing four quarters.
Alarm.com Holdings pulled off average positive earnings surprise of 27.26% in the trailing four quarters.
Brady outpaced estimates in the last reported quarter by 7.04%.
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