Valmont Sees Q2 EPS Below Consensus, Cuts FY Outlook; Stock Down - Update

(RTTNews) - Fabricated metal products maker Valmont Industries Inc (VMI), Tuesday detailed some weak earnings outlook for the second quarter and slashed its expectations for the full year, citing mainly challenging environment in its North American utility structures business and continued weakness in the Australian economy.

Following the announcement, Valmont shares dropped more than 5 percent in after-hours trade on the New York Stock Exchange.

Omaha, Nebraska-based Valmont now expects full-year earnings of $9.35 to $9.65 per share, from a prior range of $10.00 to $10.50 per share. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters currently expect earnings of $10.37 per share.

For the second quarter, Valmont projects earnings of $2.35 to $2.40 per share, while analysts currently expect $2.79 per share.

The company indicated the mix and timing of projects at its Utility Support Structures Segment currently provide less favorable profit and as a result, expects operating margin for the segment to be in the range of 12 percent to 14 percent, both for the second quarter and for the year.

In the Coatings Segment, the weaker Australian economy has hurt the profitability of Valmont's galvanizing businesses in that country and the less favorable exchange rate has dampened the results from all of its operations there.

The company continues to expect weakness in its Irrigation Segment, while profit in the Engineered Infrastructure Products Segment is expected to improve.

Valmont will report its detailed second quarter earnings on July 17.

Valmont stock closed Tuesday at $160.67, down $0.44 or 0.27%, on a volume of 222k shares on the NYSE. In after hours, the stock dropped $8.57 or 5.33% at $152.10.