Dover Q4 Profit Falls, Cuts 2015 EPS View

(RTTNews) - Dover Corp. (DOV), a diversified global manufacturer, Tuesday said fourth-quarter net earnings declined to $169.3 million or $1.02 per share from $194.0 million or $1.13 per share for the same period of 2013.

Adjusted quarterly earnings per share from continuing operations was $1.01, while it was $0.99 in the prior year period.

On average, 14 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $0.94 per share. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Revenue grew to $1.978 billion from $1.786 billion in the prior year. Wall Street expected revenues of $ 2.04 billion.

The firm attributed the 11 percent revenue growth to organic growth of 6 percent and an increase of 7 percent from acquisitions, partially offset by a 2 percent impact from foreign exchange.

The firm updated its 2015 guidance to reflect the anticipated combined impact of lower oil prices, discontinued operations, share repurchase activity and FX. The company now expects total revenue growth of 1 to -2 percent, principally reflecting the new Energy revenue estimate of -6 to -9 percent, a 15 point reduction from the prior forecast.

In total, full year adjusted earnings per share are now expected to be in the range of $4.70 to $4.95, a $0.35 reduction to the prior guidance. Analysts expect earnings of $ 5.00 per share for the year.

Dover also announced today its intention to divest Sargent Aerospace, a supplier of precision-engineered components and aftermarket services in the aerospace and defense industries, and part of Dover's Engineered Systems segment.

Both Sargent and Datamax O'Neil or D-O are reported as discontinued operations for the fourth quarter and full year 2014 results. Dover expects to complete the sale of D-O in the first quarter, with the sale of Sargent expected to occur in the second quarter of 2015.