Knowles Corporation KN reported healthy first-quarter 2021 results, wherein both the top line and the bottom line beat the respective Zacks Consensus Estimate.
Net Income
On a GAAP basis, net income (from continuing operations) in the March quarter was $12.5 million or 13 cents per share against net loss of $12.8 million or loss of 14 cents per share in the year-ago quarter. The improvement was primarily driven by an operating income.
Non-GAAP net income came in at $27.8 million or 29 cents per share compared with $3.2 million or 3 cents per share in the prior-year quarter. The bottom line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 4 cents.
Knowles Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise 
Knowles Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Knowles Corporation Quote
Revenues
Quarterly revenues grew 23.2% year over year to $201 million, which came above the midpoint of the company’s guidance. The growth was driven by solid MEMS (micro-electro-mechanical systems) microphone demand across multiple end markets and improved trends in the Hearing Health business. Precision Devices revenues were in line with its expectations. Also, the top line surpassed the consensus estimate of $200 million.
Audio revenues increased 35.8% year over year to $163.1 million. The segment’s gross profit was $64.8 million compared with $40.6 million in the prior-year quarter.
Precision Devices revenues declined 11.9% to $37.9 million, as the pandemic continued to affect the medtech and defense end markets. Gross profit was $13.7 million compared with $16.1 million in the year-ago quarter.
Other Details
Cost of goods sold increased to $123 million from $105.5 million year over year. Gross profit improved to $78 million from $56.2 million for a margin of 38.8% and 34.5%, respectively. Total operating expenses were $59.7 million compared with $65.8 million in the prior-year quarter. Operating income came in at $18.3 million against a loss of $9.6 million a year ago.
Cash Flow & Liquidity
During the first quarter of 2021, Knowles generated $39.7 million of cash from operations. Free cash flow was $34.5 million.
As of Mar 31, 2021, the company had $181.6 million in cash and cash equivalents with $16.6 million of long-term operating lease liabilities compared with the respective tallies of $147.8 million and $18.7 million at the end of the previous quarter.
Q2 Outlook
Knowles has guided for the second quarter of 2021. On a continuing operations basis, it expects non-GAAP revenues in the range of $185-$205 million. Non-GAAP gross profit margin is estimated in the range of 39-41%. Non-GAAP earnings are projected in the band of 23-29 cents per share.
Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider
Knowles currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked stocks in the broader industry are Micron Technology MU, Etsy ETSY and Perion Network PERI, each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Micron delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 6.5%, on average.
Etsy delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 31.8%, on average.
Perion delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 109.4%, on average.
Zacks Top 10 Stocks for 2021
In addition to the stocks discussed above, would you like to know about our 10 best buy-and-hold tickers for the entirety of 2021?
Last year's 2020 Zacks Top 10 Stocks portfolio returned gains as high as +386.8%. Now a brand-new portfolio has been handpicked from over 4,000 companies covered by the Zacks Rank. Don’t miss your chance to get in on these long-term buys.
Access Zacks Top 10 Stocks for 2021 today >>
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Micron Technology, Inc. (MU): Free Stock Analysis Report
Perion Network Ltd (PERI): Free Stock Analysis Report
Etsy, Inc. (ETSY): Free Stock Analysis Report
Knowles Corporation (KN): Free Stock Analysis Report
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Zacks Investment Research
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
