VWR Corporation (VWR) reported fourth quarter non-GAAP EPS of $0.43 before the opening bell Wednesday, compared to the consensus estimate of $0.37. Revenues increased 4.0% from last year to $1.10 billion. Analysts expected revenues of $1.08 billion.
For the full-year 2014, the laboratory products supplier reported profit of $152.6 million, or $2.49 per share. Revenue was reported as $4.38 billion.
For FY’15, VWR provided EPS guidance of $1.42-$1.50 versus consensus of $1.54 per share. The company also issued revenue projection of $4.24-$4.31 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $4.43 billion.
Greg Cowan, Chief Financial Officer, commented, “Our fourth quarter results highlight the continued fundamental underlying strength of the VWR business, and our 2015 outlook contemplates a continuation of this trend. Our guidance also incorporates the impact of the recent strengthening of the U.S. dollar versus the euro and other major currencies, as approximately half of our revenues come from sales outside the United States…”
On valuation measures, VWR Corp. shares, which currently have an average 3-month trading volume of 348,080 shares, trade at a trailing-12 P/E of 50.82, a forward P/E of 16.00 and a P/E to growth ratio of 1.19. The median Wall Street price target on the name is $28.00 with a high target of $30.00. Currently ticker boasts 8 ‘Buy’ endorsements, compared to 1 ’Holds’ and no ‘Sell’.
Profitability-wise, VWR has a t-12 profit and operating margin of 2.61% and 7.63%, respectively. The $3.26 billion market cap company reported $120.5 million in cash vs. $2.11 billion in debt in its most recent quarter. Capex in 2014 were $33.6 million compared to $45.3 million in 2013. Free cash flow was $157.5 million.
VWR currently prints a one year return of about 18% and a year-to-date loss of around 4.15%.
VWR Corp. provides laboratory products, services, and solutions to the life science, general research, and applied markets. The company was founded in 1852 and is headquartered in Radnor, Pennsylvania.
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