Cabot's (CBT) Earnings and Revenues Beat Estimates in Q1
Cabot Corporation CBT recorded first-quarter fiscal 2024 (ending Dec 31, 2023) earnings of 88 cents per share compared with the year-ago quarter's 93 cents.
CBT posted adjusted earnings of $1.56 per share, up 59.2% from the year-ago quarter figure of 98 cents. It surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.49.
The company’s net sales in the first quarter were $958 million, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $927.3 million. Net sales decreased around 0.7% from $965 million reported in the prior-year quarter.
Cabot Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Cabot Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Cabot Corporation Quote
Segment Highlights
Reinforcement Materials’ sales decreased around 0.3% year over year to $641 million in the reported quarter. Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) in the segment were $129 million, up around 37.2%. The rise in EBIT was primarily driven by greater unit margins resulting from increased pricing and product mix in calendar year 2023 customer agreements, as well as higher volumes in Europe and Asia.
Sales in the Performance Chemicals unit went down roughly 0.3% year over year to $285 million in the reported quarter. EBIT increased 17.2% to $34 million, primarily due to 10% higher volumes driven by growth in the specialized carbons, specialty compounds and fumed metal oxide product lines.
Financials
The company concluded the first quarter of fiscal 2024 with a cash balance of $244 million. In the fiscal first quarter, cash flows from operating activities were $105 million. Capital expenditures for the quarter totaled $54 million. In the first quarter, cash was paid dividends of $22 million and made share repurchases of $33 million.
Outlook
Cabot stated that adjusted earnings per share for fiscal 2024 are expected to be in the $6.30 to $6.80 range, implying a rise of 22% at the midpoint compared to fiscal 2023.
The company had an encouraging start to the fiscal year, and underlying estimates about its sectors remain consistent with the previous quarter.
Price Performance
Shares of Cabot are down 4.6% in the past year compared with an 19.8% decline of the industry.
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Zacks Rank & Key Picks
Cabot currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Better-ranked stocks in the basic materials space include Cameco Corporation CCJ, Carpenter Technology Corporation CRS and Alpha Metallurgical Resources Inc. AMR.
Cameco, carrying a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), has a projected earnings growth rate of 188% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CCJ’s current-year earnings has been revised upward by 12.5% in the past 60 days. The stock is up around 77.1% in a year. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Carpenter Technology currently carries a Zacks Rank #1. CRS beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the last four quarters while matching it once, with the average earnings surprise being 12.2%. The company’s shares have soared 18.9% in the past year.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AMR’s current-year earnings has been revised upward by 69% in the past 60 days. It currently carries a Zacks Rank #1. AMR delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of roughly 9.6%, on average. AMR shares are up around 137.8% in a year.
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