Newell Brands (NASDAQ: NWL) reported Q1 EPS of $0.14, $0.08 better than the analyst estimate of $0.06. Revenue for the quarter came in at $1.71 billion versus the consensus estimate of $1.69 billion.

First Quarter 2019 Executive Summary

• Net sales from continuing operations were $1.7 billion, a decline of 5.5 percent compared with $1.8 billion in the prior year period, primarily reflecting the impact of unfavorable foreign exchange and a decline in core sales.
• Core sales from continuing operations declined 2.4 percent from the prior year period.
• Reported operating margin was 0.9 percent compared with negative 1.5 percent in the prior year period. Normalized operating margin was 4.3 percent compared to 2.5 percent in the prior year period.
• Reported diluted loss per share for the total company was $0.36 compared with reported diluted earnings per share of $0.11 in the prior year period.
• Normalized diluted earnings per share for the total company were $0.14, compared with $0.28 in the prior year period.
• Operating cash flow was a use of $200 million, an improvement of $202 million versus a year ago.
• The company announced divestitures of two businesses, Process Solutions and Rexair, for combined after-tax proceeds of approximately $735 million, both of which were completed on May 1, 2019.

“We have had a good start to the year and are encouraged by the improvement in results in the first quarter,” said Michael Polk, Newell Brands President and Chief Executive Officer. “Sales were at the higher-end of our expectations, operating margins increased as a result of disciplined cost management, normalized EPS was well ahead of our expectations, and operating cash flow was significantly improved versus last year. We have taken decisive action to strengthen performance and those actions are beginning to yield results. As expected, U.S. retailer headwinds associated with the Toys ‘R’ Us bankruptcy and the Writing industry retailer landscape have begun to moderate as we exit the first quarter, setting up what we believe will be a more constructive environment for the balance of 2019.”

GUIDANCE:

Newell Brands sees Q2 2019 EPS of $0.34-$0.38, versus the consensus of $0.47. Newell Brands sees Q2 2019 revenue of $2.1-2.15 billion, versus the consensus of $2.11 billion.

Newell Brands sees FY2019 EPS of $1.50-$1.65, versus the consensus of $1.56. Newell Brands sees FY2019 revenue of $8.2-8.4 billion, versus the consensus of $8.35 billion.

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Newell Brands (NWL) click here.