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Amphenol Beats Estimates – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 17:24:08 +0000

Amphenol Corporation (APH) yesterday reported sales of $716.6 million in the third quarter of 2009, down 17% from a year ago but up 5% sequentially, which surpassed management’s guidance range of $670 million – $685 million.

The sequential growth in revenues was attributed to solid demand in the information technology and data communications equipment, mobile devices and automotive market. However, the unfavorable movement in exchange rates negatively impacted the top-line by 1% or $9.9 million in the reported quarter.

Operating margin improved to 17.3% from 16.9% in the previous quarter and 19.8% in the year-ago quarter. The sequential improvement was due to cost reduction actions undertaken by the management.

Management is taking steps to improve operating performance amidst challenging economic conditions. The company has reduced its headcount by about 6000 or approximately 17% of its workforce.

On the cost front, while productivity improvements and outsourcing to Asia explains part of the recent expansion, management deserves partial credit for boosting operating margins through its reduction of overhead costs.

Earnings per share (EPS) of 47 cents easily beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 43 cents.

Amphenol continues to be a strong generator of cash and generated $146 million of cash from operations and used $15 million in capital expenditures. The company ended the quarter with cash and equivalents of $307.6 million. Total debt of $792 million was down from $821 million at the end of the previous quarter.

Based on constant exchange rates and a continuous improving demand trends, management expects revenues between $720 million and $735 million in the fourth quarter of 2009, up 0.4% – 2.5% sequentially. Management added that although economic conditions remain uncertain, the company expects stabilization of demand in most markets and improvement in demand in some markets.

Amphenol achieved a book-to-bill ratio of 1.04 to 1, which is positive for the first time since the beginning of the economic downturn in 2008. Earnings per share for the fourth quarter are projected between 47 cents and 49 cents.

We remain optimistic about Amphenol’s long-term growth prospects in the mobile devices business. Demand for mobile phones remains strong. Beyond mobile phones, the company continues to expand the use of its products into fast growing sub-markets such as PDAs, laptops, and desktop computers. The military and aerospace markets also offer strong scope of growth in 2010 as the economy recovers.

Amphenol Corporation designs and manufactures connectors and interconnecting systems that are used primarily to conduct electrical and optical signals for a wide range of sophisticated electronic applications.
Read the full analyst report on "APH"
Zacks Investment Research

MAIN, GTN, LAVA Stock-PR Stock Headlines September 3, 2009

Stock-PR — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 12:50:36 +0000

Main Street Capital Announces Monthly Dividends for October, November and December 2009 of $0.125 Per Share Main Street Capital Corporation (Nasdaq: MAIN) (”Main Street”) announced today that its Board of Directors declared monthly dividends of $0.125 per share for October, November and December 2009. These monthly dividends, which will be payable pursuant to the table below, [...]

Amphenol Quarter In-Line – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 15:23:48 +0000

Amphenol Corporation (APH), which manufactures connectors that are primarily used for a wide range of sophisticated electronic applications, yesterday reported sales of $685.2 million in the second quarter of 2009. Sales were down 19% from a year ago but up 3.8% sequentially and surpassed management’s guidance of revenues between $660 million and $675 million and consensus estimate of $673 million.

Currency translation effect decreased sales by approximately 3% or by $23.0 million in the second quarter of 2009. From an organic standpoint (excluding acquisitions and foreign exchange impact), sales were down 21% year over year and down 1% sequentially.

Gross margin dipped to 31.2% from 32.7% reported in the year ago quarter but flat sequentially. Operating margin declined to 16.9% from 19.8% in the comparable quarter of last year but was essentially flat on a sequential basis. GAAP EPS of $0.43 beat the consensus estimate by a penny.

Margins benefited from lower material costs and other cost-cutting measures, which was offset by the impact of significantly lower sales volumes. During the second quarter, the company reduced its headcount by 1500 people, or 6% of its workforce.

Going forward, APH stated that though the economic environment remains uncertain, the company saw a stabilization of demand in most markets. Based on constant currency exchange rates and some seasonal moderation, APH expects revenues between $670 million and $685 million in the third quarter of 2009, against consensus estimate of $684 million. Q3:09. EPS is projected within $0.41 – $0.43 against consensus estimate of $0.44.

The downturn in the economy has impacted the company’s business along with pricing pressure. However, we remain optimistic about Amphenol’s long-term growth prospects in the mobile devices business. Demand for mobile phones remains strong.

Beyond mobile phones, the company continues to expand the use of its products into fast growing sub-markets such as PDAs and laptops. We maintain our Buy on the stock.
Read the full analyst report on "APH"
Zacks Investment Research

Applied Nanotech Holdings, Inc. (APNT.OB) Signs Exclusive Agreement for Copper Nano-Particle Inks

QualityStocks — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:47:10 +0000

Applied Nanotech Holdings, Inc. announced this morning the signing of an exclusive worldwide license agreement with a leading industrial chemical products company in Japan for manufacturing and commercializing nano-copper inks and pastes. The company will receive an upfront payment of $1.5 million, of which $500,000 is payable immediately, and $1.0 million is payable in June [...]

Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: The Dow Chemical Co., Hana Bioscience, Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., Intel Corp. and Amphenol Corp. – Press Releases

Zacks Market Commentaries — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 13:27:57 +0000

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL - April 3, 2009 - Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: The Dow Chemical Co. (DOW), Hana Bioscience (HNAB), Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD), Intel Corp. (INTC) and Amphenol Corp. (APH).

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=4579.

Here are highlights from Thursday's Analyst Blog:

DOW Reels In Rohm & Haas Deal

The Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) announced that it completed the acquisition of Rohm and Haas.

Synergies are targeted to be $1.3 billion. Dow has decided to exercise its option to have the Haas Family Trusts make an additional $500 million investment in Dow equity. This is consistent with Dow's disciplined plan to retire the bridge loan for the financing of the Rohm and Haas transaction by the end of 2009.

Hana Bio Report a Non-Event

On March 31, 2009, Hana Bioscience (HNAB) reported fourth quarter 2008 financial results.

The Company reported a net loss of $6.1 million (including non-cash expenses), or $0.19 per share, for the three months ended December 31, 2008, compared to $3.6 million, or $0.10 per share, for the same period in 2007.

AMD Growth Plan Breakdown

Over the last few years, Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) has consistently churned out lower-cost alternatives to Intel Corp.'s (INTC) offerings. AMD was the first to introduce 64-bit Athlons and Opterons for desktops and servers, respectively. More recent introductions include the Phenom and Barcelona processor families for desktops and servers, respectively.

The company has launched both quad-core and triple-core versions of these products. The triple-core products are expected to be a lower-cost alternatives for price-sensitive customers, although the quad-core products are also expected to do very well. The new technology is expected to provide a number of architectural advantages, including more efficient power usage.

Amphenol Exceeds Target Price

Amphenol Corp. (APH) designs and manufactures connectors and interconnecting systems that are used primarily to conduct electrical and optical signals for a wide range of sophisticated electronic applications.

We had recently increased our target price on the stock from $29 to $30, based on comparative valuation (P/E of 15.8x our FY2009 estimates, compared to the historical average of around 17X). Buoyed by the market in general, the stock has shot over our revised target price and is trading up over 9% today.

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Zacks Investment Research

Amphenol Exceeds Target Price – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 20:51:31 +0000

Amphenol Corp. (APH, Buy) designs and manufactures connectors and interconnecting systems that are used primarily to conduct electrical and optical signals for a wide range of sophisticated electronic applications.

We had recently increased our target price on the stock from $29 to $30, based on comparative valuation (P/E of 15.8x our FY2009 estimates, compared to the historical average of around 17X). Buoyed by the market in general, the stock has shot over our revised target price and is trading up over 9% today.

Clearly the stock has discounted all the negatives associated with the anticipated weakness in the just-concluded March quarter, and is reflecting potential revenue upside in the current June quarter. Although FY2009 estimates have been revised downwards mostly, our current June quarter revenue projections assume a 3.5% revenue upside sequentially, after a projected decline of nearly 13% in the March quarter compared to the December quarter.

This may reflect in part the successful integration of the company's recent acquisition of Jaybeam Wireless, which is expected to help penetrate the European market, especially in terms of garnering new customers. Nevertheless, we continue our coverage of APH with a Buy rating.
Read the full analyst report on "APH"
Zacks Investment Research

Amphenol Surviving Downturn – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 20:06:43 +0000

Highlights include Amphenol Corp. (APH), Molex Inc. (MOLX) and Tyco Electronics Ltd. (TEL).

Amphenol Corp. Surviving a Depressed EMS Environment

Companies in the electronics supply chain have probably seen one of the worst 4th quarters in a long time, and it appears Q1 is not expected to fare so well. Overall, current expectations for 2009 revenues declines for companies in the Electronic Manufacturing Services (EMS) Sector is averaging in the 18%-20% range, compared to earlier projected declines of 12%-14%.

Amphenol Corp. (APH, Buy), a manufacturer of connectors and interconnecting systems that are used primarily to conduct electrical and optical signals for a wide range of sophisticated electronic applications, is not an exception. However, we think that the company has fared better than its peers in 2008, mainly due to the company's strong military/aerospace exposure, market share gains, strong acquisition capabilities and cost flexibility.

Earlier, Amphenol experienced a sudden decrease in Q4:FY08 demand from the automotive and mobile phone business. Weakness in the handset business is expected to continue into the March quarter due to seasonality, inventory issues and softer than expected demand trends which is expected to result in around 30% sequential sales decline. The IT & data communications market is also expected to experience a very challenging March quarter as businesses continue to cut spending.

During Q4:FY08, the automotive market declined by 34% sequentially, followed by a 21% decrease in the handset market, a 17% decrease in broadband and an 11% decline in the IT & data communications market. Amphenol exited Q4:FY08 with $215 million in cash and $787 million in debt, with a debt-to-capital ratio of 36.8%. Inventories were down 1.8% sequentially or $9.4 million, while Amphenol generated $170.8 million in operating cash flow. During the quarter, Amphenol repurchased stock worth nearly $150 million and spent approx $35 million on acquisitions.

Most of the electronic supply chain companies anticipate continued weak demand trends to persist across most end-markets during the March quarter. The automotive and consumer electronics markets are expected to experience a meaningful Q1:FY09 sequential sales decline as consumer spending retrenches.

The decline in handsets in the March quarter is expected to exceed typical seasonality for most, while the high-end computing market also appears to be very disappointing. Although smartphone demand had held up well, we are increasingly hearing about disappointing trends in this market. Telecom equipment orders began to fall off meaningfully late in the December quarter as telecom service providers cut back on capital expenditures, which has resulted in our estimate of a high-teens percentage sequential sales decline in the March quarter.

The December quarter was the first full quarter where the significant deterioration in tech demand was reflected in the results of the leading electronics supply chain companies. Weakening demand has been far reaching in terms of both the markets and the geographies impacted.

Relative to our estimates, Amphenol offered up the better Q1:FY09 outlooks, while its competitors, connector makers Molex (MOLX) and Tyco Electronics (TEL), provided the most challenged Q1:FY09 outlooks. We continue our coverage of APH with a Buy rating.

Read the full analyst report on "APH"
Read the full analyst report on "MOLX"
Read the full analyst report on "TEL"
Zacks Investment Research

Gold Relative to Dollar, Yen and Euro

Richard Shaw — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 23:08:03 +0000

As gold receives headlines, let’s look at it relative to the three key global currencies - Dollar, Yen and Euro. Gold is sometimes viewed more as a commodity for jewelry and electronic applications, and at other times more as a quasi-currency. It has an ancient history for both roles. As of late, gold has been taking [...]

Ferro Corporation’s (FOE) Materials Facilitate Performance

QualityStocks — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 15:34:21 +0000

You know when your sales for 2007 are $2.2 billion that you’re doing something right. That’s the case for Cleveland, Ohio based Ferro Corporation who garnered those kinds of numbers last year. Trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), Ferro is a worldwide supplier of technology-based performance materials for manufacturers. They are part of [...]