Plexus (PLXS) Q4 Earnings Beat Estimates, Revenues Up Y/Y

Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS) reported fourth-quarter fiscal 2019 adjusted earnings of 93 cents per share that beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by seven cents but decreased 3.1% year over year.

Revenues of $810 million beat the consensus mark of $778 million and increased 5.1% year over year. Strong revenues from Aerospace/Defense, Industrial/Commercial and Healthcare/Life Sciences sectors drove the top line.

Americas (AMER) revenues increased 7.5% year over year to $344 million. Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) revenues totaled $81 million, up 17.4% year over year. However, Asia-Pacific (APAC) revenues declined 0.5% to $416 million.

Plexus won 35 manufacturing contracts during the quarter, worth $202 million in annualized revenues. Trailing four-quarter manufacturing wins totaled $907 million in annualized revenues.

Market Sector Details

Healthcare/Life Sciences revenues rose 7.6% from the year-ago quarter to $311 million. The sector accounted for 38.4% of total revenues.

Industrial/Commercial revenues grew 8.2% year over year to $264 million and accounted for 32.6% of total revenues.

Aerospace/Defense revenues jumped 45% to $174 million and accounted for 21.5% of total revenues.

Communications accounted for 7.5% of total revenues. Revenues from the sector decreased 48.3% year over year to $61 million.

Notably, the top 10 customers of the company accounted for 51% of net revenues.

Operating Details

Gross profit increased 6.1% year over year to $77.8 million. Moreover, gross margin expanded 10 basis points (bps) year over year to 9.6%.

Selling and administrative expenses (4.8% of revenues) increased 6.2% from the year-ago quarter to approximately $38.6 million.

Plexus reported adjusted operating income of $39.2 million, up 6.1% year over year. However, adjusted operating margin was flat on a year-over-year basis at 4.8%.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow

As of Sep 28, 2019, Plexus had cash & cash equivalents worth $226.3 million compared with $198.4 million as of Jun 30, 2019.

Moreover, as of Sep 28, 2019, the company had a long-term debt of $187.3 million compared with $187.6 million as of Jun 30, 2019.

In fourth-quarter fiscal 2019, Plexus generated a free cash flow of $92 million.

Further, the company repurchased shares worth $31.4 million at an average price of $58.38 per share.

ROIC (tax-effected annualized adjusted operating income divided by average invested capital over five quarters) was 13.1% for both the fourth quarter and fiscal 2019. Plexus’ weighted average cost of capital for fiscal 2019 was 9%.

Guidance

For first-quarter fiscal 2020, revenues are projected between $780 million and $820 million. The Zacks Consensus Estimate is currently pegged at $787 million, indicating 2.8% growth from the figure reported in the year-ago quarter.

Additionally, Plexus expects GAAP earnings between 87 cents and 97 cents per share. The consensus mark for earnings is currently pegged at 87 cents, suggesting a decline of 4.4% from the figure reported in the year-ago quarter.

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

Plexus currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ:AKAM) , Alteryx (NYSE:AYX) and Cirrus Logic (NASDAQ:CRUS) are some better-ranked stocks in the broader computer and technology sector. All three stocks carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Akamai, Cirrus Logic and Alteryx are set to report quarterly results on Oct 28, 30 and 31, respectively.

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