Itron Inc ITRI reported non-GAAP earnings per share (EPS) of $1.21 for second-quarter 2024, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 26%. The company reported earnings of 65 cents in the prior-year quarter.
Revenues were $609 million, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $600 million. The top line expanded 13% (up 13% at constant currency) year over year.
Successful operational execution and robust growth across its key metrics aided the top-line growth. Management also noted that the growth was backed by the conversion of previously constrained revenues. Healthy demand trends for Itron solutions were another positive.
Product revenues were $532.9 million (87.4% of total revenues), up 14.6% year over year. Service revenues totaled $76.1 million (12.6%), down 0.1%.
Itron, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Itron, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Itron, Inc. Quote
Itron’s bookings were $447 million and its backlog amounted to $4.1 billion at the end of the reported quarter.
Following the better-than-expected results, shares rose 4.5% and closed the trading session at $108.09 on Aug 1. In the past year, shares have surged 41.2% compared with the sub-industry’s growth of 3.5%.
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Segments in Detail
Device Solutions: Revenues were $118.5 million (19.4% of total revenues), rising 5% (up 6% at constant currency) year over year due to higher demand for smart water meter and communication module sales. Our estimate was pegged at $118.8 million.
Networked Solutions: Revenues totaled $412.7 million (67.8%), up 14% year over year, driven by current and new project deployments. We suggested the metric to be $404.6 million.
Outcomes: Revenues of $77.8 million (12.8%) improved 16% on a year-over-year basis due to higher recurring and one-time services revenues. Our projection was $74 million.
Operating Details
Itron’s gross margin was 34.6%, which expanded 250 basis points on a year-over-year basis. Favorable mix and operational efficiency resulted in the uptick.
Non-GAAP operating expenses of $141 million jumped 6.6% year over year, primarily due to higher sales and general and administrative costs.
Non-GAAP operating income was $69 million compared with $41.3 million in the year-ago quarter. The upside was driven by higher gross profit, moderated by higher operating expenses.
Balance Sheet & Cash Flows
As of Jun 30, 2024, cash and cash equivalents totaled $920.6 million compared with $302.1 million as of Dec 31, 2023.
As of Jun 30, net long-term debt was $1.24 billion compared with $454.8 million as of Dec 31, 2023.
Itron generated $52 million of cash from operations in the reported quarter compared with $42 million in the prior-year quarter.
In the second quarter, free cash flow was $45 million compared with $36 million in the prior-year quarter. The uptick was mainly due to higher earnings.
Outlook
For the third quarter of 2024, ITRI expects revenues to be between $590 million and $600 million.
Non-GAAP EPS is anticipated to be in the range of $1.10-$1.20.
The company has revised its full-year revenue outlook for 2024. Management now projects revenues to be between $2.385 billion and $2.415 billion compared with guidance of $2.275 to $2.375 billion given in February 2024.
Non-GAAP EPS is currently estimated in the $4.45-$4.65 band compared with of $3.40-$3.80 projected in February 2024.
Zacks Rank
Currently, Itron carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1(Strong Buy) Rank stocks here.
Performance of Other Companies
BlackBerry’s BB first-quarter fiscal 2025 adjusted loss per share of 3 cents was narrower than the company’s estimate of a loss of 4-6 cents. In the year-ago quarter, it reported non-GAAP earnings of 6 cents per share. The Zacks Consensus Estimate was pegged at a loss of 4 cents per share.
Shares of BB have lost 51.8% in the past year.
Badger Meter, Inc BMI reported earnings per share (EPS) of $1.12 for second-quarter 2024, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 14.3%. Also, the bottom line compared favorably with the year-ago quarter’s EPS of 76 cents.
Shares of BMI have gained 23.5% in the past year.
SAP SE SAP reported second-quarter 2024 non-IFRS earnings of €1.10 ($1.18) per share, climbing 59% from the year-ago quarter’s levels. The Zacks Consensus Estimate was pegged at $1.01.
In the past year, shares of SAP have gained 55.5%.
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