Powell Industries (NASDAQ: POWL) reported Q4 EPS of $0.56, $0.18 better than the analyst estimate of $0.38. Revenue for the quarter came in at $148.5 million versus the consensus estimate of $139.04 million.

Brett A. Cope, Powell's President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "Our fourth quarter results represent solid operational performance across the Company. Throughout fiscal 2019, our teams have executed well on our gradually improving backlog, while also effectively managing our cost structure to meet increased customer demand. The international markets that support our operations in both Canada and the UK began to show moderate improvement in mid-year fiscal 2019, which have helped to contribute to our favorable year-end backlog position."

Cope added, "New orders in our fourth quarter were $162 million and included solid contributions from our core oil, gas, and petrochemical customers, resulting in full year 2019 new orders of $676 million, a 47% increase over fiscal 2018. Additionally, free cash flow in the current quarter was strong, generating $34 million dollars, resulting in $64 million dollars of free cash flow for the full fiscal year ended September 30, 2019."

OUTLOOK

Commenting on the company's outlook, Michael Metcalf, Powell's Chief Financial Officer said, "As we exit fiscal 2019, based upon our current backlog level as well as our expectation of sustained inquiry activity across our core end markets, we anticipate that fiscal 2020 will generate a solid increase in revenue over fiscal 2019. With this, we intend to increase the level of internal investment in research and development in fiscal 2020 by double digits in order to drive future growth, while continuing to deliver overall business profitability."

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