High price of gasoline got you down? Want to find a way to get back some of the cash you're laying out to keep the family Buick in benzene? Consider investing in an oil company, or one of the many firms that keep them in business. Back in February, I reviewed one such firm: Norway's StoltOffshore (NASDAQ:ACGY). As it happens, Stolt reports fiscal Q1 2006 earnings tomorrow.
What analysts say:
- Buy, sell, or waffle? Fourteen analysts follow Stolt Offshore. Ten of them say the water's just fine and invite you to come on in (buy). Two say it's too cold (sell). The last two are still sitting on the beach (hold).
- Revenues. Quarterly sales are expected to rise 17% in comparison with last year, to $435 million.
- Earnings. Meanwhile, Wall Street expects profits to increase 433% to $0.17 per share.
What management says:
The most interesting thing it has said in recent days was Monday's announcement that the company's name isn't Stolt anymore -- it's Acergy. CEO Tom Ehret explained that "the rebranding stemmed from a legal obligation to change our name. ... Our vision is to be the acknowledged leader in seabed-to-surface engineering and construction and to do this we need to be a quality-driven organization that delivers on performance, quality, safety and consistency."
Not sure what any of that has to do with changing the name to Acergy. But it sure sounds nice.
What management does:
It's equally nice that, over the last 18 months, Stolt/Acergy has nearly quadrupled its rolling net profit margin.
|
Margins |
8/04 |
11/04 |
2/05 |
5/05 |
8/05 |
11/05 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Gross |
74.0% |
75.9% |
76.5% |
76.5% |
74.3% |
74.0% |
|
Op. |
4.7% |
4.9% |
6.0% |
5.6% |
5.4% |
6.5% |
|
Net |
2.0% |
2.3% |
9.9% |
9.7% |
7.0% |
7.9% |
One Fool says:
Examining Stolt/Acergy's income statements over the last few quarters can give a Fool a headache. They're riddled with one-time charges and one-time credits. But even if we discount the net margin improvement for this reason, the firm's core operations are clearly improving, with operating profitability up 38% over the last year and a half. That's exactly what you'd expect to see in a $70-a-barrel world, and it offers a great way for investors to offset the cost of filling up at the pump.
Competitors:
- McDermott (NYSE:MDR)
- Helix Energy Solutions (NASDAQ:HELX)
- Willbros Group (NYSE:WG)
Fool contributor Rich Smith does not own shares of any company named above.
