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Itron (ITRI) Q1 Earnings & Revenues Beat Estimates, Rise Y/Y

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Itron Inc. (ITRI - Free Report) reported non-GAAP earnings of 49 cents per share in first-quarter 2023, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate and prior-year quarter's earnings of 11 cents each.

Revenues were $495 million, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 5.6%. The top line improved 4% (up 6% excluding the impact of changes in foreign currency exchange) year over year.

The top-line performance was driven by higher software license sales and easing supply-chain issues, along with strong operational execution.

Product revenues were $416.3 million (84% of total revenues), up 4.1% year over year. Service revenues totaled $78.3 million (16% of total revenues), up 3.7% from the year-ago quarter’s levels.

Itron’s bookings were $428 million and backlog totaled $4.6 billion at the end of the reported quarter. ITRI is also undertaking extensive restructuring efforts to cut down on overhead expenses and streamline its supply chain and manufacturing operations.

Itron, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Itron, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Itron, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Itron, Inc. Quote

Segments in Detail

Device Solutions: Revenues generated from this segment were $118 million (23.9% of total revenues), down 15% from the year-ago quarter due to product pruning and sale of the company’s C&I gas business.

Networked Solutions: Revenues from the segment totaled $313 million (63.4% of total revenues), up 12% year over year, driven by easing supply-chain issues.

Outcomes: The segment’s revenues of $63 million (12.7% of total revenues) improved 10% on a year-over-year basis due to higher software license and managed services sales.

Operating Details

Itron’s gross margin in the first quarter was 31.6%, which expanded 320 basis points on a year-over-year basis. Favorable mix and operational efficiency resulted in the uptick.

Non-GAAP operating expenses were $125 million, down 1% year over year.

Non-GAAP operating income was $31.3 million compared with $9.3 million in the year-ago period. The upside was driven by higher gross profit and lower non-GAAP operating expenses.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flows

As of Mar 31, cash and cash equivalents totaled $196 million, down from $202 million as of Dec 31, 2022. Accounts receivables were $305.3 million, up from $280.4 million in the prior quarter.

As of Mar 31, net long-term debt was $453.1 million compared with $452.5 million as of Dec 31, 2022.

Itron generated $1.4 million of cash from operations in the reported quarter compared with $7.6 million in the prior-year quarter.

The company had a free cash outflow of $5 million in the reported quarter against the free cash flow of $2 million in the prior-year quarter.

Guidance

For the second quarter, ITRI expects revenues to be between $510 million and $525 million.

Non-GAAP earnings per share are expected in the range of 25-35 cents.

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

Currently, Itron has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the broader technology space are Badger Meter (BMI - Free Report) , Microsoft (MSFT - Free Report) and Blackbaud (BLKB - Free Report) . BMI currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) whereas Microsoft and Blackbaud carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Badger Meter’s 2023 earnings has increased 4.7% in the past 60 days to $2.69 per share. BMI’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in the last four quarters, the average being 5.3%. Shares of BMI have surged 72.6% in the past year.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Microsoft’s fiscal 2023 earnings increased 2.9% in the past 60 days to $9.61 per share. The long-term earnings growth rate is expected to be 11.7%.

Microsoft’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in the last four quarters, the average surprise being 3.3%. Shares of MSFT have gained 11.2% in the past year.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Blackbaud’s 2023 earnings is pegged at $3.53 per share, up 2.9% in the past 60 days. The long-term earnings growth rate is anticipated to be 10.4%.

Blackbaud’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in the last four quarters, the average being 10.4%. Shares of BLKB have increased 31.3% in the past year.

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