Amphenol Corporation ( APH ), a leading
producer of electronic systems, reported phenomenal fourth quarter
2012 results with record earnings and revenues. The company
recorded earnings per share (excluding one-time items) of 94 cents
in the reported quarter compared to 73 cents per share in the
year-ago quarter. The fourth quarter 2012 earnings beat the Zacks
Consensus Estimate by 4 cents. Including one-time items, earnings
per share (EPS) were 86 cents in fourth quarter 2012 versus 69
cents in the year-earlier quarter.
For full year 2012, EPS (excluding one-time items) stood at $3.47
versus $3.05 in the prior year. Reported EPS for 2012 (including
one time items) stood at $3.39.
Sales came in for $1,146.0 million in fourth quarter 2012
versus $948.7 million in the year-ago quarter and were well ahead
of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1,108 million. For 2012, sales
were $4,292.1 million compared to $3,939.8 million in 2011, driven
by a robust performance across diversified markets and geographic
frontiers despite a continued challenging macroeconomic
environment. On a year-over-year basis, Amphenol witnessed growth
in all markets with a spurt in mobile devices, wireless
infrastructure, commercial aerospace and broadband markets.
Operating margin for the company improved to 19.3% in 2012 from
19.2% in the previous year.
Segment wise, Cable business represented 7% of total sales in
fourth quarter 2012 and was up 40% year over year, primarily due to
acquisitions. The Interconnect business, which accounted for 93% of
sales, was up 19% year over year.
In terms of end markets, revenue segregation is mentioned
below:
Information Technology and Data Communication
Equipment : Sales from this end market accounted for 18%
of the total sales in the reported quarter, up 9.0% year over year.
Management is encouraged by the year-over-year growth in this
segment with strength in products incorporated into latest
generation servers.
Military : Sales from this end market accounted
for 13% of total sales in fourth quarter 2012, up 5% year over
year. The year-over-year increase in sales was driven by a new
range of programs with high electronics content.
Commercial Aerospace : Aerospace market accounted
for 5% of total sales in fourth quarter 2012, an increase of 23%
year-over-year. The year-over-year increase was driven by an
increase in demand from jetliner production and launch of new
airplane platforms.
Handset/Mobile Devices : Sales from this segment
increased 42% year-over-year and accounted for 24% of the total
sales in fourth quarter 2012. Management expects new technologies
of mobile phones and tablets to deliver strong performance in the
coming quarters, thereby further diversifying the product range of
the segment.
Industrial : Sales accounted for 13.0% of
the total revenues in fourth quarter 2012, up 15.0% year-over-year.
The year-over-year increase was driven by organic growth and
acquisitions in energy markets.
Broadband Communications : Sales were up 36% on a
year-over-year basis, accounting for 8% of the total in fourth
quarter 2012. The year-over-year increase was driven by an
increase in sales of Cable and Interconnect products.
Automotive : Sales from this segment accounted
for 10.0% of total sales in the quarter and jumped 19.0%
year-over-year. The year-over-year increase was driven by vehicle
volumes, coupled with growth related to new electronics
applications.
Mobile Networks : Sales from this segment
increased 24% year-over-year in the quarter and accounted for 10%
of the total. Management is encouraged by the recent pick-up in
demand of design-ins of high technology-components on a diverse
range of new mobile computing platforms.
During the quarter, Amphenol purchased 2.5 million shares, thereby
completing the purchase of stock under the 20 million share buyback
program. As of Dec 30, 2012, cash and cash equivalents stood at
$690.8 million, up from $515.1 million at previous year-end. Long
term debt increased to $1,606.2 million, up from $1,376.8 million
from the year-ago period.
Guidance
Assuming stable economic conditions and current currency exchange
rates, Amphenol projects sales between $1.055 billion and $1.080
billion in first quarter 2013 and estimated EPS (excluding
one-time items) between 84 cents and 87 cents. For 2013, management
projects revenues between $4.555 billion and $4.655 billion, up 6%
- 8% from 2012. EPS for 2013 is expected between $3.72 and
$3.84, up 7% - 11% from 2012.
Amphenol currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and a long-term
Neutral recommendation. One of its competitors, Molex
Incorporated ( MOLX ) carries a Zacks
Rank #3 (Hold).
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