Sensata Technologies (NYSE: ST) reported Q1 EPS of $0.53, $0.03 worse than the analyst estimate of $0.56. Revenue for the quarter came in at $774.3 million versus the consensus estimate of $770 million.

Revenue:

• Revenue was $774.3 million, a decrease of $96.2 million, or 11.1%, compared to $870.5 million in the three months ended March 31, 2019.
• Revenue declined 10.4% on an organic basis, which excludes the (0.7%) effect from foreign currency exchange rates versus the prior year period.

Operating income:

• Operating income was $58.6 million (7.6% of revenue), a decrease of $84.0 million, or 58.9%, compared to $142.6 million (16.4% of revenue) in the three months ended March 31, 2019.
• Adjusted operating income was $136.7 million (17.7% of revenue), a decrease of $51.9 million, or 27.5%, compared to $188.6 million (21.7% of revenue) in the three months ended March 31, 2019.

Earnings per share:

• Earnings per share were $0.05, a decrease of 90.4% compared to $0.52 per share in the three months ended March 31, 2019.
• Adjusted earnings per share were $0.53, a decrease of 37.6% compared to $0.85 per share in the three months ended March 31, 2019.
• Changes in foreign currency exchange rates decreased Sensata's adjusted earnings per share by $0.01 in the first three months of 2020 compared to the prior year period.

"We are in a period of unprecedented market upheaval as individuals, communities and companies have implemented shelter in place protocols to prevent the spread of COVID-19," said Jeff Cote, CEO and President of Sensata. "Our primary goals are to continue to protect our employees and our business, and deliver for our customers. We have significant financial flexibility, long-standing customer relationships and long-cycle designs, all of which will enable us to pass through this market turmoil and emerge stronger as markets normalize. Although we are facing challenging market conditions, looking ahead, our strong base of new business wins will enable us to sustain attractive end-market outgrowth that we continued to generate in the first quarter and we will responsibly align our cost structure to the market-driven demand for our products."

Guidance Withdrawal

"On April 2, 2020, Sensata withdrew its financial guidance for the first quarter and full year 2020 due to the heightened uncertainty related to the COVID-19 pandemic," said Paul Vasington, CFO of Sensata. “We are working closely with our customers to serve their essential production needs, and we have taken decisive actions to control and reduce operating costs while further enhancing our financial flexibility. This included cutting discretionary spend and capital expenditures, instituting global indirect pay cuts and furloughs and drawing on our revolver to enhance our cash balances. As economic conditions remain uncertain for the foreseeable future, we are not able to provide guidance regarding our financial performance other than to note that we expect revenue in the second quarter to be significantly lower than in the first quarter. As our customers reopen their operations, we will scale up our production to meet their needs, while closely adhering to Federal, State and local restrictions and guidelines."

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Sensata Technologies (ST) click here.