Industrial-battery maker EnerSys (ENS), Tuesday reported a lower profit for fourth quarter, as sales declined hurt mainly by lower volumes and higher commodity prices.
Reading, Pennsylvania-based EnerSys' fourth-quarter profit dropped to $37.7 million or $0.77 per share from $45.4 million or $0.94 per share last year.
Excluding special items, adjusted earnings declined to $0.80 per share from $0.98 per share last year.
On average, four analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to earn $0.81 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
EnerSys sales for the quarter fell 4 percent to $572.2 million from $592.8 million last year. The decline was due mainly to a drop in organic volumes as well as pricing, with foreign currency translation also showing a negative impact.
Four analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $593.79 million for the quarter.
Chief Executive John Craig said, "In spite of the sequential quarterly increase in commodity costs, we were able to maintain our operating earnings above our 10% minimum target. Orders in fiscal 2014 have been trending positively, and we expect continued strong operating results in our first quarter of fiscal 2014."
For the first quarter, EnerSys continues to expect adjusted earnings of between $0.78 and $0.82 per share, which excludes an expected charge of $0.07 per share.
ENS closed Tuesday's trading at $49.34, up $0.95 or 1.96%, on the NYSE. The stock, however, fell $0.06 or 0.12% in after-hours trade.
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