Post Earnings Coverage as VWR Corp. Q4 2016 Results Outperformed Projections

Upcoming AWS Coverage on Heska Post-Earnings Results

LONDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / March 14, 2017 / Active Wall St. announces its post-earnings coverage on VWR Corp. (NASDAQ: VWR). The Company posted its financial results for the fourth quarter fiscal 2016 (Q4 FY16) and full year 2016 (FY16) on February 24, 2017. The laboratory products supplier exceeded earnings expectations. Register with us now for your free membership at:

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One of VWR Corp.’s competitors within the Medical Laboratories & Research space, Heska Corp. (NASDAQ: HSKA), reported on February 28, 2017, record financial results for its fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2016. AWS will be initiating a research report on Heska in the coming days.

Today, AWS is promoting its earnings coverage on VWR; touching on HSKA. Get our free coverage by signing up to:

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Earnings Reviewed

In Q4 FY16, VWR reported net sales of $1.13 billion compared to $1.11 billion for Q4 FY15, which was up by 1.6% y-o-y. On an organic basis, net sales increased $10.8 million, or 1.0% from the prior year period. The Company’s reported numbers lagged behind analysts’ consensus of $1.14 billion.

VWR reported Q4 FY16 net income of $27.0 million, or $0.20 per diluted share, compared to $53.5 million, or $0.41 per diluted share, in Q4 FY15. In Q4 FY16, the Company’s adjusted EPS totaled $0.45 compared to $0.47 in the prior year. Earnings results beat Wall Street’s expectations of $0.44 per share.

During FY16, the Company reported net sales of $4.51 billion, up from $4.32 billion in the year ago period, as currency reduced reported net sales by $48.2 million, or 1.1%, while acquisitions added $106.4 million, or 2.5%. On an organic basis, VWR’s net sales increased $137.2 million, or 3.2%. Furthermore, the Company’s net income for FY16 stood at $148.2 million, or $1.12 per diluted share, compared to $154.3 million, or $1.17 per diluted share, in FY15.

Operating Metrics

For the three months ended on December 31, 2016, the Company posted gross margin of $314.3 million, or 27.8% of sales, compared to $307.9 million, or 27.7% of sales, in the prior year’s same quarter. The Company’s operating income for Q4 FY16 came in at $68.1 million versus $87.7 million in Q4 FY15.

Segment Performance

During Q4 FY16, VWR’s America’s net sales came in at $668.4 million compared to $652.3 million, up by 2.5% in Q4 FY15. On an organic basis, net sales declined 0.9% y-o-y. The reduction in organic net sales was due to a challenging prior year comparison and an extra billing day in Q4 FY15. The segment’s reported operating earnings was up $2.3 million to $40.7 million compared to $38.4 million in Q4 FY15. In Q4 FY16, operating income included $1.8 million of restructuring expense and a $0.5 million acquisition related inventory adjustment. The prior year quarter’s results included a $0.5 million non-cash earn-out benefit and secondary offering expenses of $0.6 million.

VWR’s EMEA-APAC net sales were up 0.4% to $461.9 million in the reported quarter compared to $460.2 million from the prior year’s comparable period. The strengthening of the US dollar compared to the British pound, the Euro, and other currencies reduced net sales by $17.4 million, or 3.8%, while acquisitions added $2.7 million, or 0.6%. On an organic basis, net sales grew 3.6%. The segment’s reported operating income was $27.4 million, down from $49.3 million in the prior year’s same quarter. In Q4 FY16 operating income included $18.5 million of restructuring expense and a $1.2 million charge for an earn-out adjustment.

Cash flow and Balance sheet

In FY16, VWR generated $266.2 million in cash from operations which was up 18.3% versus cash from operations of $225.0 million in FY15. The Company’s capital expenditures in FY16 were $59.9 million compared to $40.9 million in FY15. At December 31, 2016, total debt was $2.02 billion compared to total debt of $1.99 billion as of December 31, 2015

VWR had cash and cash equivalents balance of $168.7 million, as on December 31, 2016, compared to $136.3 million at the end of December 31, 2015.

Outlook

The Company in FY17 expects net sales in the range of $4.56 billion to $4.61 billion, up 1% to 2%, and up 3% to 4% on a constant-currency basis. VWR expects adjusted EPS in the range of $1.79 billion to $1.87 billion, up 4% to 9%, and up 6% to 11% on a constant-currency basis.

Stock Performance

At the closing bell, on Monday, March 13, 2017, VWR Corp.’s stock slightly slipped by 0.72%, ending the trading session at $27.60. A total volume of 429.09 thousand shares were traded at the end of the day. In the last month and previous twelve months, shares of the Company have rallied 4.74% and 12.61%, respectively. Moreover, the stock surged 10.27% since the start of the year. Shares of the company have a PE ratio of 24.56. At Monday’s closing price, the stock’s net capitalization stands at $3.64 billion.

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