DOWNERS GROVE, Ill., April 20, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Dover (NYSE: DOV) announced today that for the first quarter ended March 31, 2017, revenue was $1.8 billion, an increase of 12% from the prior year. The increase in the quarter was driven by acquisition growth of 12% and organic growth of 4%, partially offset by a 3% impact from dispositions and an unfavorable impact from foreign exchange ("FX") of 1%. Net earnings were $172.2 million, an increase of 73% as compared to $99.4 million for the prior year period. Diluted net earnings per share ("EPS") for the first quarter ended March 31, 2017, were $1.09, compared to $0.64 EPS in the prior year period, representing an increase of 70%. EPS for the first quarter of 2017 included a gain on a disposition of $0.39. EPS for the prior year period included a gain on a disposition of $0.07. Excluding these items, adjusted EPS for the first quarter of 2017 was $0.70, an increase of 25% from an adjusted EPS of $0.56 in the prior year period. EPS for the first quarter ended March 31, 2017, and March 31, 2016, include restructuring costs of $0.03 EPS and $0.07 EPS, respectively.

Dover's President and Chief Executive Officer, Robert A. Livingston, said, "I am very pleased with our first quarter business activity and results. The revenue growth of 12% was broad-based and bookings grew 21%, resulting in a strong book-to-bill of 1.12. Of particular note, organic revenue and bookings grew 4% and 12%, respectively.

"Among the highlights in the quarter was an acceleration in the recovery of our U.S. drilling and production market. At the same time, business activity was also very solid in our printing & identification, retail fueling, and retail refrigeration markets, as well as the majority of our other industrial markets. Strong growth and solid execution, along with an improved tax rate, resulted in adjusted EPS of $0.70.

"As a result of the solid first quarter performance, higher expectations in Energy, and overall strong bookings activity, we are raising our full year revenue and EPS guidance. We now expect full year diluted earnings per share to be in the range of $4.05 to $4.20, versus our prior guidance of $3.40 to $3.60. Our revised guidance includes the gain from our recent disposition. Further, this revised guidance is based on full year revenue growth of 11% to 13% versus our prior forecast of 10% to 12%, and is comprised of organic growth of 4% to 6% and acquisition growth of approximately 10%, partially offset by a 2% impact from the dispositions and a 1% headwind from FX. Our revised revenue forecast is primarily driven by a one point increase in organic growth. The combined impact of acquisitions, dispositions, and FX is essentially unchanged from our prior forecast."

Dover will host a webcast of its first quarter 2017 conference call at 10:00 A.M. Eastern Time (9:00 A.M. Central Time) on Thursday, April 20, 2017. The webcast can be accessed on the Dover website at dovercorporation.com. The conference call will also be made available for replay on the website. Additional information on Dover's first quarter results and its operating segments can be found on the Company's website.

About Dover:

Dover is a diversified global manufacturer with annual revenue exceeding $7 billion. We deliver innovative equipment and components, specialty systems, consumable supplies, software and digital solutions, and support services through four operating segments: Energy, Engineered Systems, Fluids, and Refrigeration & Food Equipment. Dover combines global scale with operational agility to lead the markets we serve. Recognized for our entrepreneurial approach for over 60 years, our team of 29,000 employees takes an ownership mindset, collaborating with customers to redefine what's possible. Headquartered in Downers Grove, Illinois, Dover trades on the New York Stock Exchange under "DOV." Additional information is available at dovercorporation.com.

Forward-Looking Statements:

This press release contains "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. Such statements concern future events and may be indicated by words or phrases such as "anticipates," "expects," "believes," "suggests," "will," "plans," "should," "would," "could," and "forecast," or the use of the future tense and similar words or phrases. Forward-looking statements address matters that are uncertain, including, by way of example only: operating and strategic plans, future sales, earnings, cash flows, margins, organic growth, growth from acquisitions, restructuring charges, cost structure, capital expenditures, capital allocation, capital structure, dividends, cash flows, exchange rates, tax rates, interest rates, interest expense, changes in operations and trends in industries in which our businesses operate, anticipated market conditions and our positioning, global economies, and operating improvements. Forward-looking statements are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations, including, but not limited to, economic conditions generally and changes in economic conditions globally and in the markets and industries served by our businesses, including oil and gas activity and U.S. industrials activity; conditions and events affecting domestic and global financial and capital markets; oil and natural gas demand, production growth, and prices; changes in exploration and production spending by our customers and changes in the level of oil and natural gas exploration and development; changes in customer demand and capital spending; risks related to our international operations and the ability of our businesses to expand into new geographic markets; the impact of interest rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations; increased competition and pricing pressures; the impact of loss of a significant customer, or loss or non-renewal of significant contracts; the ability of our businesses to adapt to technological developments; the ability of our businesses to develop and launch new products, timing of such launches and risks relating to market acceptance by customers; the relative mix of products and services which impacts margins and operating efficiencies; the impact of loss of a single-source manufacturing facility; short-term capacity constraints; domestic and foreign governmental and public policy changes or developments, including import/export laws and sanctions, tax policies, environmental regulations and conflict minerals disclosure requirements; increases in the cost of raw materials; our ability to identify and successfully consummate value-adding acquisition opportunities or planned divestitures, and to realize anticipated earnings and synergies from acquired businesses and joint ventures; our ability to achieve expected savings from integration and other cost-control initiatives, such as lean and productivity programs as well as efforts to reduce sourcing input costs; the impact of legal compliance risks and litigation, including product recalls; indemnification obligations related to acquired or divested businesses; cybersecurity and privacy risks; protection and validity of patent and other intellectual property rights; goodwill or intangible asset impairment charges; a downgrade in our credit ratings which, among other matters, could make obtaining financing more difficult and costly; and work stoppages, union and works council campaigns and other labor disputes which could impact our productivity. Dover refers you to the documents that it files from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, such as its reports on Form 10-K, Form 10-Q and Form 8-K, for a discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties that could cause its actual results to differ materially from its current expectations and from the forward-looking statements contained herein. Dover undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required by law.

Non-GAAP Disclosures

In an effort to provide investors with additional information regarding our results as determined by GAAP, Management also discloses non-GAAP information that Management believes provides useful information to investors. Adjusted net earnings, adjusted diluted earnings per common share, free cash flow and organic revenue growth are not financial measures under GAAP and should not be considered as a substitute for net earnings, diluted earnings per common share, cash flows from operating activities, or revenue as determined in accordance with GAAP, and they may not be comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies. Adjusted net earnings represents net earnings adjusted for gains on disposition of businesses and a product recall charge. Adjusted diluted earnings per common share represents adjusted net earnings divided by average diluted shares. Management believes this information is useful to investors to better understand the company's ongoing profitability and facilitates easier comparisons of the company's profitability to prior and future periods and to its peers. Free cash flow represents net cash provided by operating activities minus capital expenditures. Management believes that free cash flow is an important measure of operating performance because it provides management and investors a measurement of cash generated from operations that is available for mandatory payment obligations and investment opportunities, such as funding acquisitions, paying dividends, repaying debt and repurchasing our common stock. Management believes that reporting organic revenue growth, which excludes the impact of foreign currency exchange rates and the impact of acquisitions and dispositions, provides a useful comparison of our revenue performance and trends between periods.

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SOURCE Dover Corporation