Watts Water Technologies (NYSE: WTS) reported Q1 EPS of $0.95, $0.08 better than the analyst estimate of $0.87. Revenue for the quarter came in at $382.6 million versus the consensus estimate of $372.91 million.

• Sales of $383 million were down 2% and 1% organically primarily as a result of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic; foreign exchange was a 1% headwind
• GAAP operating margin of 12.5%, up 50 bps; adjusted operating margin of 12.6%, up 20 bps
• GAAP and adjusted EPS of $0.94 and $0.95, respectively; up 3% on GAAP basis and up 1% on adjusted basis
• Initiated cost and cash management actions to mitigate COVID-19 impact on business
• Enhanced financial flexibility by extending existing credit facility; low net debt leverage ratio of 0.5x at quarter-end
• Withdrawing 2020 full year outlook due to COVID-19 uncertainty

Chief Executive Officer Robert J. Pagano Jr. commented, “During the quarter, we implemented comprehensive safety measures to ensure the health and safety of our employees while simultaneously continuing to support the critical needs of our customers. I am grateful to our employees for their resilience in such an unsettling and stressful time. Their efforts delivered solid first quarter results despite the many challenges encountered due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While our operating performance was commendable, we are anticipating the impact of COVID-19 will have a significant adverse effect on world economies, including demand in our end markets. Given the unprecedented uncertainty in the markets, we are withdrawing the 2020 full year outlook we provided in February.”

Mr. Pagano concluded, “While we navigate through this turbulent environment, we will focus on managing what is within our control. We are addressing COVID-19 disruptions by initiating various cost reduction and cash preservation programs to mitigate its impact. We will continue to implement these programs over the remainder of 2020. Further, we believe the actions we have taken over the last several years to strengthen our portfolio and increase customer intimacy, along with aggressively paying down debt, has put us in a very strong financial position. We maintain ample liquidity to work through these uncertain times, and we expect to continue to invest for the future. We have an experienced management team that is proactively managing this situation and I am confident that we will come out of this as a stronger company.”

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Watts Water Technologies (WTS) click here.