Wabtec misses quarterly profit expectations on high raw material costs
Feb 14 (Reuters) - Heavy industrial parts maker Wabtec reported fourth-quarter profit below estimates on Wednesday, owing to high raw material costs and supply chain disruptions.
The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based company is a provider of equipment, systems and aftermarket services for freight and transit rail industries.
Higher prices for parts squeezed margins in the company's transit segment, which saw its fourth-quarter adjusted gross margin contracting to 29.4% from 30.3% a year earlier.
The company reported an adjusted profit for the quarter ended Dec. 31 of $1.54 per share, compared with analysts' average estimate of $1.58 per share, according to LSEG data.
Wabtec expects 2024 adjusted profit per share in the range of $ 6.50 to $6.90. Analysts on average were expecting a profit of $6.73 per share for the full year 2024.
The company, which operates in over 50 countries, said its quarterly sales in the quarter rose 9.5% to $2.53 billion, driven by strong demand in both freight and transit segments.
(Reporting by Shivansh Tiwary in Bengaluru; Editing by Shweta Agarwal)
