Horsehead Holding Meets on Revenues, Misses on EPS (ZINC)

Horsehead Holding Meets on Revenues, Misses on EPS

Horsehead Holding (Nasdaq: ZINC ) reported earnings on Feb. 20. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), Horsehead Holding met expectations on revenues and missed expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue expanded. GAAP loss per share dropped.

Gross margins dropped, operating margins dropped, net margins grew.

Revenue details
Horsehead Holding notched revenue of $106.4 million. The five analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected to see a top line of $106.8 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 6.1% higher than the prior-year quarter's $100.3 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 -$0.25. The five earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ forecast -$0.05 per share. GAAP EPS were -$0.25 for Q4 versus -$0.29 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 -6.2%, 330 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was -17.9%, 280 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -10.5%, 220 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $114.6 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.02.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $481.9 million. The average EPS estimate is $0.31.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a five-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 730 members out of 747 rating the stock outperform, and 17 members rating it underperform. Among 244 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 243 give Horsehead Holding a green thumbs-up, and one give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Horsehead Holding is buy, with an average price target of $13.60.

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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 recommends Horsehead Holding. The Motley Fool owns shares of Horsehead Holding. 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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