CECO Environmental Corp
(
CECE
) reported financial results for the fourth quarter and full year
2012 with earnings came of 18 cents a share, in line with the
Zacks Consensus Estimate. However, earnings were up 5.9% on a
year-over-year basis.
For the full year 2012, CECO reported earnings of 65 cents a
share, 13.3% lower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate. However,
earnings for the full year grew 27.5% year over year.
Quarterly Details
Net sales for the quarter contracted 9.3% year over year to
$34.3 million from $37.8 million in the prior-year period. The
decline in sales was primarily attributable to timing on projects
in process and the plan for completion converting into
revenue.
Backlog, as of Dec 31, 2012, was $59.5 million compared with
$54.9 million, as of Dec 31, 2011. Bookings in the fourth quarter
were $26.3 million compared with $37.4 million in the fourth
quarter of 2011.
Gross profit was $11.2 million compared with $11.3 million in
the fourth quarter of 2011, while gross margin for the quarter
increased to 32.7% from 29.9% in the prior-year period. Operating
income for the quarter increased 15.8% to $4.4 million versus
$3.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2011. Operating margin
increased to 12.8% from 10.1% in the comparable prior-year
period.
Balance Sheet/Cash
Cash and cash equivalents were $23.0 million as of Dec 31,
2012 compared to $12.7 million as of Dec 31, 2011 with no bank
debt. The company had shareholders' equity of $61.9 million as of
Dec 31, 2012.
Dividend
On Mar 6, 2013, the board of directors increased the quarterly
dividend by 11% to 50 cents a share from the previous quarterly
dividend of 45 cents. The dividend will be paid on Mar 28, 2013
to all shareholders of record at the close of business on Mar 18,
2013.
Acquisition
CECO Environmental Corp., leading provider of air pollution
control technology systems, product recovery and filtration
technology, recently announced that its has acquired Aarding
Thermal Acoustics B.V., one of the global leaders in natural gas
turbine exhaust systems and silencer applications.
The acquisition of Aarding comes at an opportune time when
globally investments in the natural gas sector are increasing.
Therefore through this acquisition, CECO will able to capture
higher share of this growing market. CECO believes that the
acquisition of Aarding will accretive to its earnings going
forward, as CECO is set to expand its global portfolio and
enhance its core technology in one of the highest growth areas of
its industry.
CECO currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) while some of its
competitors that can be considered at the moment are
Chicago Bridge & Iron
(
CBI
),
Calgon Carbon Corp
. (
CCC
) and
Orion Marine Group Inc.
(
ORN
), which currently carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and Zacks Rank #1
(Strong Buy), respectively.
CHICAGO BRIDGE (CBI): Free Stock Analysis
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CALGON CARBON (CCC): Free Stock Analysis
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CECO ENVIRNMNTL (CECE): Free Stock Analysis
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ORION MARINE GP (ORN): Free Stock Analysis
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