Roper Industries Inc.
(
ROP
) reported fourth quarter 2012 non-GAAP earnings of $1.48 per
share, up 20.3% from the year-ago quarter and ahead of the Zacks
Consensus Estimate by a couple of cents.
Revenues
Roper's non-GAAP total revenue (excluding a fair value adjustment
to acquired deferred revenue) increased 10.4% year over year to
$815.9 million in the quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate was
pegged at $816 million.
On a GAAP basis, Roper reported revenues of $809.9 million.
Acquisitions accounted for 7% of the revenue growth in the
quarter, while 3.0% came from organic growth.
Growth across most its business segments also contributed to the
year-over-year increase in revenues. Revenues from Energy Systems
& Controls and Medical & Scientific Imaging increased
7.3% and 37.9%, respectively. The strength in these segments more
than offset the 0.8% decline in Industrial Technology revenue and
0.1% dip in RF Technology revenue.
Margins
Non-GAAP gross profit increased 16.4% year over year to $472.3
million. Gross margin in the reported quarter increased to 57.9%
from 54.9% in the year-ago quarter, driven by better mix and
higher volumes.
Non-GAAP income from operations increased 23.4% year over year
to $231.2 million. The upside in operating income was based on
improved sales. Operating margin improved from 25.4% to 28.3% on
a year-over-year basis. Net earnings on a non-GAAP basis
increased 21.1% from the year-ago quarter to $147.4 million.
Balance Sheet
Roper exited the quarter with $370.6 million in cash and cash
equivalents and $2.02 billion of total debt (including the
current portion) compared with $355.1 million in cash and cash
equivalents and $2.10 billion of total debt (including the
current portion) in the previous quarter.
Guidance
Roper expects earnings per share in the range of $1.19-$1.23
(well below the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.28) for the first
quarter of 2013 while fiscal 2013 earnings per share are guided
between $5.60 and $5.82 (better than the Zacks Consensus Estimate
of $5.65).
Recommendation
We believe that a strong backlog and improvement across segments
coupled with strong organic growth will likely drive revenues
going forward. Moreover, the acquisitions are expected to benefit
the company in the long run. However, competition from
Agilent Technologies Inc.
(
A
),
Halliburton Company
(
HAL
) and
IDEX Corp
(
IEX
) are the near-term headwinds.
Currently, Roper has Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
AGILENT TECH (A): Free Stock Analysis Report
HALLIBURTON CO (HAL): Free Stock Analysis
Report
IDEX CORP (IEX): Free Stock Analysis Report
ROPER INDS INC (ROP): Free Stock Analysis
Report
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