Roper Industries Boosts 2014 Outlook As Q3 Profit Tops View

(RTTNews) - Industrial solutions provider Roper Industries, Inc. (ROP) reported Monday a profit for the third quarter that increased 14 percent from last year, driven by improved margins and higher sales amid new order growth.

Adjusted earnings per share topped analysts' expectations, while quarterly revenues missed their estimates. The company also provided earnings guidance for the fourth quarter, in line with Street view, and raised earnings forecast for the full-year 2014.

"Our businesses continue to perform exceptionally well. Revenue growth in the quarter was broad-based, with organic increases in each segment. We are encouraged by the continued strength in orders, which exceeded revenue in all four segments," Chairman, President and CEO Brian Jellison said in a statement.

The Sarasota, Florida-based company reported net earnings of $155.51 million or $1.54 per share for the third quarter, higher than $136.32 million or $1.36 per share in the prior-year quarter.

Excluding items, adjusted net income for the quarter was $1.55 per share, compared to $1.42 per share in the year-ago quarter.

On average, eight analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $1.53 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Net sales for the quarter increased 7 percent to $884.12 million from $827.81 million in the same quarter last year. Adjusted revenue was $885 million, missing seven Wall Street analysts' consensus estimate of $887.92 million.

In the adjusted sales growth, acquisitions resulted in 2 percent increase, while organic sales increase was 4 percent.

Industrial technology sales grew to $205.69 million from $200.68 million, and energy systems & controls sales totaled $170.77 million, up from $155.06 million last year.

Medical & scientific imaging sales increased to $268.81 million from $237.34 million, and RF technology sales improved to $238.86 million from $234.73 million a year ago.

Operating margin percentage improved 170 basis points to 30.7 percent from last year's 29.0 percent as gross margin percentage expanded 100 basis points to 59.3 percent from last year.

Total new orders increased to $893.36 million from prior-year quarter's $838.28 million.

Looking ahead to the fourth quarter, the company expects adjusted earnings in a range of $1.75 to $1.81 per share, while analysts projects earnings of $1.77 per share.

For fiscal 2013, Roper raised adjusted earnings guidance to a range of $6.32 to $6.38 per share from the prior forecast of $6.27 to $6.37 per share. Street is currently looking for full-year 2014 earnings of $6.32 per share.

"We invested $303 million in three acquisitions during the quarter.........We are pleased with the performance of these businesses and are excited about their growth opportunities. Looking forward, we finished the quarter with substantial capacity for future acquisitions and have an attractive pipeline of opportunities," Jellison added.

ROP closed Friday's regular trading session at $151.18, up $0.65 on a volume of 0.58 million shares.