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A. O. Smith (AOS) Q2 Earnings Beat Estimates, Sales Miss

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A. O. Smith Corporation (AOS - Free Report) has reported mixed second-quarter 2020 results, wherein earnings beat estimates, while revenues lagged the same.

The company’s adjusted earnings were 45 cents per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 44 cents. However, the bottom line declined from the year-ago figure of 61 cents.

Top-Line Details

The company’s second-quarter net sales decreased 13.3% year over year to $663.9 million. The decline was primarily attributable to lower sales in North America as well as China and weakness in other global end markets amid the coronavirus pandemic. Notably, the figure narrowly missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $665 million.

A.O. Smith’s sales in North America (comprising the U.S. and Canada water heaters and boilers) moved down 8.3% year over year to $480.5 million. The segment’s results were affected by lower sales volume of commercial water heater and boiler products, partially offset by higher sales volume of water treatment products.

Segmental operating earnings were down about 14% to $105.4 million on a year-over-year basis. The decline was on account of lower sales volume of commercial water heaters and boilers.

Quarterly sales in Rest of World (including China, India and Europe) fell about 24% year over year to $189.7 million. The decline was primarily attributable to a higher sales mix of mid-price products and reductions in customer inventory levels.

Operating loss at the segment was $5.8 million against operating earnings of $22.4 million recorded in the year-ago quarter. Lower sales in China were detrimental to the segment’s income.

A. O. Smith Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

 

A. O. Smith Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

A. O. Smith Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | A. O. Smith Corporation Quote

Liquidity & Cash Flow

On Jun 30, 2020, A.O. Smith’s cash and cash equivalents totaled $442.7 million compared with $374 million as of Dec 31, 2019.

At the end of the reported quarter, long-term debt was $274.3 million compared with $277.2 million as of Dec 31, 2019.

In the first six months of 2020, cash provided by the operating activities totaled $179.3 million compared with $143.7 million in the year-ago comparable period.

Share Repurchases

In mid-March, the company suspended its share repurchase activity, owing to the uncertain business environment created by the coronavirus pandemic. Therefore it refrained from buying back any shares in the second quarter of 2020.

Guidance

The company issued earnings guidance for 2020. It expects adjusted earnings of $1.72-1.86 per share. The mid-point reflects a year-over-year decline of 19.4%.

Zacks Rank & Other Stocks to Consider

The company currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Some other top-ranked stocks are Griffon Corporation (GFF - Free Report) , AGCO Corporation (AGCO - Free Report) and Avery Dennison Corporation (AVY - Free Report) . While Griffon and AGCO currently sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Avery Dennison carries a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Griffon has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 21.76%, on average.

AGCO has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 41.73%, on average.

Avery Dennison has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 7.70%, on average.

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