Yahoo Finance John Bean (JBT) Earnings Beat Estimates in Q4, Sales Rise Y/Y
John Bean Technologies Corporation JBT reported adjusted earnings of $1.49 per share in fourth-quarter 2022, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.44. The bottom line surged 60% from the prior-year quarter.
On a reported basis, the company’s earnings per share were $1.17 compared with the prior-year quarter’s 99 cents.
Revenues of $599 million were in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The top line improved 20.4% from the prior-year quarter.
In the reported quarter, the company’s total orders increased 1% year over year to $593 million. Orders in the JBT FoodTech segment were $432 million compared to a record $455 million in the prior year. In the JBT AeroTech segment, orders went up 23% from the prior-year quarter to $161 million.
Backlog in the FoodTech segment increased 5% from the year-ago quarter to $664 million as of Dec 31, 2022. The AeroTech segment’s backlog was $391 million at the end of the reported quarter, up 5.1% year over year. Total backlog at the end of the fourth quarter was $1,055 million, up 4.8% year over year.
John Bean Technologies Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
John Bean Technologies Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | John Bean Technologies Corporation Quote
Cost and Margins
Cost of sales increased 21.3% year over year to $432 million in the fourth quarter. Gross profit was up 18.1% year over year to $167 million. The gross margin was 27.8% compared with the year-earlier quarter’s 28.4%.
Selling, general and administrative expenses were up 8.3% year over year to $113 million. Adjusted operating profit improved 68.1% year over year to $63.7 million. Adjusted operating margin was 10.6% in the fourth quarter compared with the prior-year quarter’s 7.6%. In the quarter under review, adjusted EBITDA was around $86 million, reflecting a year-over-year increase of 46.3%. Adjusted EBITDA margin was 14.3% compared with the year-ago quarter’s 11.8%.
Segment Performance
JBT FoodTech: Net sales were $441 million compared with $369 million in the prior-year quarter. Adjusted operating profit amounted to $67.4 million compared with the year-ago quarter’s $45.8 million.
JBT AeroTech: Net sales were $158 million, up 23% from the prior-year quarter. The segment’s adjusted operating profit surged 319.4% year over year to $15.1 million.
Financial Performance
John Bean reported cash and cash equivalents of $73.1 million at the end of 2022, down from $78.8 million at the end of 2021. The company generated around $142 million of cash from operating activities in 2022 compared with $226 million in the prior year.
The company’s total debt was $978 million as of Dec 31, 2022, up from $674 million as of Dec 31, 2021. Liquidity as of Dec 31, 2022, was $526 million compared with $703 million as of Dec 31, 2021.
John Bean completed the acquisition of Bevcorp and Alco in the year, which are highly complementary to FoodTech's diverse products and solutions.
2022 Performance
John Bean delivered adjusted earnings of $4.77 per share in 2022, up 18% from the 2021 level. The reported figure missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $5.34. However, the same came in line with the company’s updated guidance of $4.65-$4.80. On a reported basis, earnings per share were $4.07 compared with the prior year’s $3.69.
In 2022, revenues of $2.2 billion lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.3 billion. However, the top line improved 16% from the prior-year quarter.
Guidance
The company expects revenues to improve 6-10% from the 2022 reported level. Revenue growth is projected to be 5-9% for the FoodTech segment, which includes a 1-4 % contribution from organic growth and 4-5% from acquisitions. The AeroTech segment’s revenues are expected to increase 10-13% from that reported in 2022.
JBT anticipates spending $3-$4 million on restructuring costs associated with FoodTech for 2023. This is anticipated to result in annual run rate savings of $9-$12 million in 2024 when combined with the actions implemented in the second half of 2022.
Price Performance
John Bean’s shares have gained 5.8% in the past year against the industry’s fall of 15.7%.
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Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider
John Bean carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked stocks from the Industrial Products sector are OI Glass OI, Tenaris TS and Deere & Company DE. OI and TS flaunt a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present, and DE has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
OI Glass has an average trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 16.4%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for OI’s 2023 earnings is pegged at $2.51 per share. This indicates a 9.13% increase from the prior-year reported figure. The consensus estimate for 2023 earnings has moved 12.5% north in the past 60 days. OI’s shares gained 66.3% in the last year.
Tenaris has an average trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 11.5%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for TS’ 2023 earnings is pegged at $5.32 per share. This indicates a 22.4% increase from the prior-year reported figure. The consensus estimate for 2023 earnings has moved north by 2.7% in the past 60 days. Its shares gained 36.8% in the last year.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Deere & Company’s fiscal 2023 earnings per share is pegged at $28.08, suggesting an increase of 20.6% from that reported in the last year. The consensus estimate for fiscal 2023 earnings moved 0.6% upward in the last 60 days. DE has a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 7.1%. Its shares gained 20.7% in the last year.
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