Architectural glass products maker Apogee Enterprises Inc. (APOG), Wednesday reported a higher fourth-quarter profit, aided mainly by a seven percent growth in revenues. Nevertheless, quarterly earnings and sales came in below Wall Street expectations.
Apogee provided its earnings guidance for fiscal year 2014, with the midpoint of the range indicated to miss analysts' expectations. The news disappointed investors, sending Apogee shares down 6.5 percent in after-hours trade on the Nasdaq.
Minnesota-based Apogee reported quarterly net income of $4.4 million or $0.15 per share, compared to $3 million or $0.11 per share last year.
On average, four analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $0.17 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
Net sales for the fourth quarter were $179.7 million, compared to $168.7 million a year ago. Analysts had a consensus estimate of $179.36 million for the quarter.
Apogee CEO Joseph Puishys said the results come amid commercial construction markets that continued to be flat during the year.
Architectural segment sales grew 9 percent from last year, on growth in installation, window and architectural glass businesses. Large-scale optical segment sales fell 9 percent.
At the end of the quarter, Apogee had backlog of $297.0 million, compared to $237 million in the prior year.
For fiscal year 2014, Apogee expects earnings from continuing operations of $0.90 to $1.00 per share and revenue growth to be in the high single digits.
Analysts currently estimate earnings of $0.97 per share on revenues of $748.14 million for 2014.
The company has ramped up production at architectural glass business and is investing in new capabilities. Capital spending for fiscal 2014 is expected to be in the range of $40 million to $45 million.
Apogee believes that its strategies to foray into new geographies with expanded product-portfolio will enable it to reach $1 billion in revenues by fiscal 2016.
Apogee closed Wednesday at $29.19, up 0.10%, on a volume of 400 thousand shares. In after hours, the stock dropped $1.89 or 6.47%.
For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com