Applied Industrial Technologies Q4 Profit Down; Guides FY15 - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) reported that its net income for the fourth-quarter of fiscal 2014 declined to $29.7 million or $0.71 per share, from $32.3 million, or $0.76 per share in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.75 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Net sales for the quarter were $654.6 million, an increase of 2.2% compared with $640.5 million in the same quarter a year ago. Wall Street expected revenues of $661.80 million.

Commenting on the results, Applied's President & Chief Executive Officer Neil A. Schrimsher said, "Fiscal 2014 was a significant year of transition with our ERP deployments and acquisition activity. We enter fiscal 2015 with a great deal of momentum, especially when considering our recent acquisitions of Knox Oil Field Supply and Reliance Industrial Products. We have significantly enhanced our capabilities to serve North American oil and gas markets, and these acquisitions will add approximately $240 million of annual sales to our fiscal 2015 results."

Looking forward, the company expects to see improvements in its service center operations and fluid power businesses, supported by an improving industrial economic environment.

For fiscal 2015, the company expects earnings per share to be in the range of $2.95 to $3.20 per share and sales growth of 13% to 16%. Included in these numbers are its recent acquisitions which will provide a 10% sales increase in fiscal 2015, along with an expected earnings per share boost of $0.17 to $0.22 per share. Wall Street currently is looking for fiscal year 2015 earnings of $3.21 per share on annual revenues of $2.71 billion.