What happened
Shares of Dana Incorporated (DAN 1.96%), a global leader in providing power and energy management solutions for vehicles and machinery, are up 11% Thursday afternoon after the company released better-than-expected first-quarter results.
So what
Starting from the top, first-quarter revenue declined 10.6% compared to the prior year, to $1.93 billion, which was enough to top analyst estimates of $1.83 billion. Adjusted earnings per share checked in at $0.47, which was well below the prior year's $0.78 per share but still above analyst estimates of $0.30 per share.
Not only was Dana's business negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, its first quarter also recorded weaker demand in the heavy-vehicle markets during January and February. However, those adverse impacts were partially offset by conversion of its sales backlog.
Image source: Getty Images.
Now what
The million-dollar question facing most investors is: Does the company have ample liquidity?
Jonathan Collins, executive vice president and chief financial officer at Dana Incorporated, made it a point to address that question: "The strength of our balance sheet and capital structure has given us the flexibility to manage through this period of significantly lower production volumes." More specifically, Dana has more than $1.8 billion liquidity, which doesn't include another $679 million available from its revolving credit facility and another $500 million available under its bridge facility.
While the company does have strong liquidity, investors would be wise to expect a slower recovery within the hard-hit automotive industry and take market volatility in the near term with a grain of salt.
