Arrow Electronics Q3 Tops Estimate; Outlook Strong - Update

(RTTNews) - Arrow Electronics Inc (ARW) Wednesday reported a higher third-quarter profit, led by an 11 percent rise in sales, with results topping Wall Street estimates.

The company provided a strong outlook for the fourth quarter, helping Arrow shares gain about 3 percent in morning trade on the New York Stock Exchange.

"In the third quarter we again produced outstanding results and invested in our long-term strategic sales-related initiatives," the company said.

Arrow, based in Englewood, Colorado, posted quarterly net earnings of $146.9 million or $1.47 per share, compared with $96.8 million or $0.95 per share a year ago.

Excluding items, adjusted earnings for the quarter were $1.40 per share, compared with $1.18 per share last year.

On average, 10 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters estimated earnings of $1.31 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude one-time items.

Sales for the third quarter rose to $5.61 billion from $5.05 billion in the prior year, topping analysts' estimates of $5.40 billion.

"Our focus on the higher value portion of the datacenter has aligned our enterprise computing solutions business with the faster growth areas of IT spending," said Michael Long, the company's chief executive officer.

Sales at the company's global components segment climbed 8 percent from last year, and global enterprise computing solutions segment rose 19 percent.

For the fourth quarter, Arrow expects adjusted earnings of $1.75 to $1.87 per share on sales of $6.1 billion to $6.5 billion. Analysts currently expect earnings of $1.74 per share for the quarter, on sales of $6.16 billion.

For the full year, the company said at the midpoints of its fourth-quarter guidance ranges, adjusted earnings and sales would grow 17 percent and 6 percent, respectively, compared with last year.

Analysts currently expect sales to grow 4.6 percent for the year.

Arrow stock is trading at $55.27, up $1.48 or 2.75%, on a volume of 0.26 million shares.