Green Plains Renewable Energy Beats on Both Top and Bottom Lines (GPRE)

Green Plains Renewable Energy Beats on Both Top and Bottom Lines

Green Plains Renewable Energy (Nasdaq: GPRE ) reported earnings on Oct. 31. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Sep. 30 (Q3), Green Plains Renewable Energy beat expectations on revenues and exceeded expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue dropped slightly and GAAP earnings per share contracted to a loss.

Margins contracted across the board.

Revenue details
Green Plains Renewable Energy reported revenue of $947.4 million. The six analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ looked for revenue of $852.3 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 1.0% lower than the prior-year quarter's $957.0 million.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
EPS came in at -$0.03. The four earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ averaged -$0.22 per share. GAAP EPS were -$0.03 for Q3 versus $0.32 per share for the prior-year quarter.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 2.9%, 200 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 0.9%, 210 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -0.1%, 140 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $824.5 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.84.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $3.36 billion. The average EPS estimate is $0.28.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a two-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 83 members out of 135 rating the stock outperform, and 52 members rating it underperform. Among 37 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 18 give Green Plains Renewable Energy a green thumbs-up, and 19 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Green Plains Renewable Energy is outperform, with an average price target of $6.43.

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Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned here at the time of publication. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor of Motley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. The Motley Fool has no positions in the stocks mentioned above. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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