Free Research Report as Cabot’s Earnings Surged 9.41%

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LONDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / March 02, 2018 / Active-Investors.com has just released a free earnings report on Cabot Corp. (NYSE: CBT). If you want access to this report all you need to do is sign up now by clicking the following link www.active-investors.com/registration-sg/?symbol=CBT. The Company reported its financial results on February 06, 2018, for the first quarter of the fiscal year 2018 ending December 31, 2017. The specialty chemicals and performance materials Company reported significant improvements in its operating performance in Q1 FY18, especially in the Reinforcement Materials and Purification Solutions segments. Register today and get access to over 1000 Free Research Reports by joining our site below:

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Active-Investors.com is currently working on the research report for Kraton Corporation (NYSE: KRA), which also belongs to the Basic Materials sector as the Company Cabot. Do not miss out and become a member today for free to access this upcoming report at:

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Active-Investors.com is focused on giving you timely information and the inside line on companies that matter to you. This morning, Cabot most recent news is on our radar and our team decided to put out a fantastic report on the company that is now available for free below:

www.active-investors.com/registration-sg/?symbol=CBT

Earnings Highlights and Summary

For the first quarter of the fiscal year 2018, Cabot's net sales and other operating revenues reached $710 million, up 17.84% from $611 million in Q1 FY17. The revenue numbers outpaced analysts' consensus estimates of $644 million.

Cabot's cost of sales hiked 19.91% to $542 million in Q1 FY18 from $452 million in Q1 FY17. The Company's gross profit was $178 million for the reported quarter, which was 11.95% higher than $159 million in the same period of last year.

Cabot's selling and administrative expenses jumped 9.52% to $69 million y-o-y and research and technical expenses increased 25% to $15 million y-o-y in the quarter ended December 31, 2017. The Company's income from continuing operations before income taxes and equity in earnings of affiliated Companies was $92 million, up 22.67% from $75 million in Q1 FY17.

Cabot's net loss attributable to common shareholders was $122 million for the reported quarter, a decrease of 321.82% from a net income attributable to common shareholders of $55 million from the year-ago same quarter. Cabot's diluted loss per share attributable to common shareholders was $1.98 in Q1 FY18 compared to diluted earnings per share (EPS) attributable to common shareholders of $0.86 in Q1 FY17. The Company's reported net income included an after-tax charge of $180 million due to the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act 2017 (TCJA). The Company's adjusted diluted EPS, excluding non-recurring and non-core items, was $0.93 in Q1 FY18, an increase of 9.41% from $0.85 in Q1 FY17. This was higher than analysts' consensus estimates of $0.78 per share.

Segment Details

During Q1 FY18, Cabot's Reinforcement Materials segment reported net revenues of $387 million, up 31.19% from $295 million in Q1 FY17. This was mainly due to 2017 calendar year customer agreements and a strong Asia spot pricing. The segment's earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) were $62 million in the quarter under review, an increase of 55% from $40 million in the year-ago comparable quarter. Q1 FY18 was the strongest EBIT quarter for the Reinforcement Materials segment since Q1 FY14.

Cabot's Performance Chemicals segment reported revenues of $229 million in Q1 FY18, up 11.17% from $205 million in Q1 FY17. The segment's EBIT fell 4.08% to $47 million in the reported quarter from $49 million in the previous year's corresponding quarter. This was because price increases were more than offset by higher raw material costs and fixed costs.

For Q1 FY18, Cabot's Purification Solutions segment generated revenues of $70 million, an increment of 1.45% from $69 million in Q1 FY17. For the quarter ended December 31, 2017, the segment reported EBIT of $6 million, 50% up from $4 million in the same period of last year. This was primarily due to a continued momentum in the Specialty applications and the timing of royalty receipts.

Cabot's Specialty Fluids segment reported revenues of $6 million in Q1 FY18 compared to $11 million in Q1 FY17, reflecting a decrease of 45.45%. This decrease was attributed to a lower project activity and fines cesium chemicals volumes. The segment reported a loss before interest and taxes of $2 million in Q1 FY18 compared to EBIT of $2 million in Q1 FY17.

Cash Matters

Cabot had cash and cash equivalents of $189 million as on December 31, 2017, 32.50% lower than $280 million as on September 30, 2017. The Company's long-term debt was down 30.9% to $631 million y-o-y as on December 31, 2017.

For the quarter ended December 31, 2017, Cabot's net cash flow from operating activities was $45 million, a decrease of 57.94% from $107 million for the same period of 2016. The Company had a discretionary free cash flow of $53 million at the end of Q1 FY18.

Cabot's capital expenditure was $52 million for the first quarter of the fiscal year 2018. The Company returned $36 million to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases in the reported quarter. Of this, Cabot distributed $20 million as cash dividends and spent $16 million on share repurchases.

Outlook

For the full fiscal year 2018, Cabot expects adjusted EPS to be in the range of $3.80 to $4.20. The Company anticipates its Reinforcement Materials segment to benefit from the calendar year 2018 customer agreements, along with a firm spot market in Europe and Asia. For the Performance Chemicals segment, the Company envisions sequential improvement due to higher seasonal volumes and the positive impact from price increases. However, increasing feedstock costs in specialty carbons and higher for growth investments would impact Performance Chemicals segment's margins. Besides, Cabot expects its Purification Solutions segment to benefit from a continued momentum in the Specialty applications, though it would be challenged by continued competitive ECS pricing.

Stock Performance Snapshot

March 01, 2018 - At Thursday's closing bell, Cabot's stock marginally climbed 0.03%, ending the trading session at $60.20.

Volume traded for the day: 426.43 thousand shares.

Stock performance in the previous six-month period – up 15.79%; and past twelve-month period – up 1.78%

After yesterday's close, Cabot's market cap was at $3.73 billion.

Price to Earnings (P/E) ratio was at 15.16.

The stock has a dividend yield of 2.09%.

The stock is part of the Basic Materials sector, categorized under the Specialty Chemicals industry.

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