Powell Industries (NASDAQ: POWL) reported Q2 EPS of $0.08, $0.33 better than the analyst estimate of ($0.25). Revenue for the quarter came in at $123.7 million versus the consensus estimate of $102.18 million.

Brett A. Cope, Powell's President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "Our second quarter results reflect a combination of solid operational execution and improved utilization of our people and facilities. New orders were strong in the quarter driven largely by our core domestic oil, gas and petrochemical customers. We also experienced improved orders across our international operations as activity continues to strengthen in several of our key global markets."

Cope added, "We are encouraged by the sustained level of market activity and continue to build a backlog that reflects the strengthening end market demand. In the second half of fiscal 2019, we will maintain our focus on operational execution and delivering on the trust our customers have placed in Powell. New inquiry activity was strong in the second quarter and we expect this trend to continue through the rest of the fiscal year. Overall, we expect that the growth and improved quality of our backlog will position Powell for modest improvement in the second half of 2019 over the first half."

OUTLOOK

Commenting on the company's outlook, Michael Metcalf, Powell's Chief Financial Officer said, "We continue to see strength in our core industrial markets resulting in an improved backlog position. The business is beginning to see this benefit through higher global factory volumes and the associated cost efficiencies driving margin improvement over fiscal year 2018. Additionally, with this increased level of market activity, the business has delivered strong free cash flow through the first half of fiscal 2019. Looking forward, we anticipate that our focus on end market activity and project execution through the second half of the year will result in a return to profitability for the business in fiscal year 2019. We remain committed to our prudent working capital management and believe that we are well positioned to deliver on our growing backlog."

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Powell Industries (POWL) click here.