Tenneco Q3 Profit Surges, Beats View

(RTTNews) - Auto parts company Tenneco Inc. (TEN) on Monday reported a profit for the third quarter that rose more than six-fold from last year, reflecting higher revenues and fewer one-time charges.

Adjusted earnings per share for the quarter beat analysts' expectations, while revenues matched their estimates. Looking ahead, the company projects revenue for the fourth quarter to be about the same to slightly higher compared with the year-ago quarter.

Gregg Sherrill, chairman and CEO of Tenneco said, "We recorded another quarter of record high revenue by outpacing global light vehicle industry production, generating strong year-over-year revenue growth in our commercial truck and off-highway business and benefiting from a continued steady contribution from the global aftermarket."

For the third quarter, net income attributable to the company rose to $78 million or $1.27 per share from $12 million or $0.19 per share in the same quarter last year.

Excluding one-time items, adjusted earnings for the quarter were $1.25 per share, compared to $0.99 per share in the year-ago period. On average, 12 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $1.08 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Total revenues for the quarter increased 6 percent to $2.08 billion from $1.96 billion last year, reflecting higher revenue in both product lines. Excluding substrate sales and currency, total revenue grew 5 percent to $1.60 billion. Analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $2.08 billion.

Clean Air revenue for the quarter climbed 8 percent and Ride Performance revenue rose 2 percent from a year earlier.

The company recorded a 6 percent year-over-year increase in light vehicle original equipment, or OE revenue and 15 percent growth in commercial truck and off-highway OE revenue. Global aftermarket revenue was almost flat with last year, with higher revenues in both product lines in North America offset by lower revenues in the Europe aftermarket.

Looking ahead to the fourth quarter, Tenneco projects that higher light vehicle unit volumes as well as higher commercial truck and off-highway content will offset an estimated 3 percent of total revenue currency headwind, resulting in total revenue to be about the same to slightly higher compared with the strong year-ago quarter.

The company expects revenues for the quarter, including the currency impact, to reflect this trend for light vehicle, commercial truck and off-highway and the global aftermarket.

Street expects a 4.5 percent increase in revenues for the quarter to $2.12 billion.

TEN closed Friday's trading at $54.56, up $0.85 or 1.58 percent on a volume of 1.51 million shares.