Woodward Q1 Profit Tops Estimates; Maintains Full Year Outlook

(RTTNews) - Woodward, Inc. (WWD) reported first quarter net earnings of $26 million, or $0.40 per share, compared to $44 million, or $0.66 per share in the first quarter of 2015. Excluding the special charges in the current quarter, net earnings would have been $36 million, or $0.56 per share. On average, eight analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report profit per share of $0.51 for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Net sales for the first quarter of 2016 were $445 million, a decrease of 9 percent from the first quarter of last year. Analysts expected revenue of $452.81 million for the quarter. The company said its net sales were primarily impacted by lower sales in Industrial segment, partially offset by higher sales in the Aerospace segment. Foreign currency exchange rates had an unfavorable impact of approximately $13 million on net sales.

"We delivered a solid first quarter from an operational perspective, as both segments performed in line with our expectations despite the challenging macro-economic backdrop. Our results reflect continued focus on delivering our new program wins and cost control," said Thomas Gendron, Chairman and CEO.

For fiscal 2016, Woodward's guidance is unchanged and net sales are expected to increase one to two percent over fiscal 2015, earnings before interest and taxes to be up approximately 5 percent and earnings per share to be between $2.75 and $2.95.