Hubbell (HUB-B) Misses Q3 EPS by 1c, Comments on Outlook

Hubbell (NYSE: HUB-B) reported Q3 EPS of $1.51, $0.01 worse than the analyst estimate of $1.52. Revenue for the quarter came in at $895.3 million versus the consensus estimate of $893 million.

SUMMARY & OUTLOOK

Mr. Nord commented, "We expect overall sales for 2014 to increase in the low end of the five to six percent range with balanced growth from acquisitions and organic volume. From a profitability standpoint, operating margins are expected to be lower than 2013 by sixty to seventy basis points as the less favorable product mix, lower than previously anticipated volume and costs issues that impacted the third quarter are expected to continue for the rest of the year. We are taking more aggressive actions, primarily in our lighting business, to further improve our cost structure. We estimate the total charges impacting the fourth quarter to be in the five to six million dollar range."

Mr. Nord concluded, "The third party forecasts for our end markets point to improving organic demand in 2015. While we have been encouraged by signs of a non-residential recovery we remain cautious on the overall health of the global economy with mixed signals including a rapidly weakening energy market and geopolitical uncertainty. From a profitability perspective, there are several key drivers that could impact our margin going forward. If organic volume improves, we would anticipate good incremental margins. However, we expect more of the growth to be tied to the non-residential construction market and those businesses have somewhat lower margins. We are still in the early stages of planning for 2015 and will provide a more detailed view in January consistent with prior practice. We remain confident about the future prospects for our Company with an outlook for improving end markets, significant opportunities to reduce our cost structure through facility consolidation over the next several years, and capitalizing on our strong balance sheet to create shareholder value."

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Hubbell (HUB-B) click here.

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