Snap-On (NYSE: SNA) reported Q4 EPS of $1.97, $0.16 better than the analyst estimate of $1.81. Revenue for the quarter came in at $857.4 million versus the consensus estimate of $843.1 million.

“Our fourth quarter results, including a 9.8% organic increase in net sales, a 140 basis point improvement in operating margin before financial services, and a 23.1% gain in diluted earnings per share, represent an encouraging finish to 2014,” said Nick Pinchuk, Snap-on chairman and chief executive officer. “For the full year, despite headwinds, we achieved a 6.9% growth in organic sales and a 20.4% increase in diluted earnings per share, once again confirming the strength of Snap-on’s value proposition to make work easier for serious professionals performing critical tasks in workplaces of consequence. In 2015, we believe we will continue to reach more and more of these professionals by advancing further along each of our runways for coherent growth while, at the same time, making ongoing operating progress through our Snap-on Value Creation Processes in the areas of safety, quality, customer connection, innovation and rapid continuous improvement. As always, I thank our franchisees and associates for their significant contributions to our team. Without their capability and commitment, these results would not have been possible.”

Outlook

In 2015, Snap-on expects to make continued progress along its defined runways for coherent growth, leveraging capabilities already demonstrated in the automotive repair arena and developing and expanding its professional customer base, not only in automotive repair, but in adjacent markets, additional geographies and other areas, including in critical industries, where the cost and penalties for failure can be high. Through continued deployment of its Snap-on Value Creation Processes, Snap-on also anticipates making further progress in 2015 in the areas of safety, quality, customer connection, innovation and rapid continuous improvement. In pursuit of these initiatives, Snap-on expects that capital expenditures in 2015 will be in a range of $80 million to $90 million. Snap-on also anticipates that its full year 2015 effective income tax rate will be at or below its 2014 full year rate.

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Snap-On (SNA) click here.