Rockwood Holdings Beats on Revenue, Matches Expectations on EPS

Rockwood Holdings (NYSE: ROC  ) reported earnings on Feb. 19. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), Rockwood Holdings beat expectations on revenues and met expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue increased slightly. Non-GAAP earnings per share shrank significantly. GAAP earnings per share dropped significantly.

Margins contracted across the board.

Revenue details
Rockwood Holdings logged revenue of $829.0 million. The eight analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected sales of $790.8 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were the same as the prior-year quarter's.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
EPS came in at $0.47. The eight earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.47 per share. Non-GAAP EPS of $0.47 for Q4 were 48% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.91 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.26 for Q4 were 67% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.79 per share.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 27.1%, 860 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 8.3%, 680 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 2.6%, 510 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $914.8 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.85.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $3.69 billion. The average EPS estimate is $4.08.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a five-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 349 members out of 364 rating the stock outperform, and 15 members rating it underperform. Among 135 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 134 give Rockwood Holdings a green thumbs-up, and one give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Rockwood Holdings is outperform, with an average price target of $53.13.

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