discoverIE Group (LON:DSCV) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results

discoverIE Group (LON:DSCV) released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The company reported GBX 41.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, Digital Look Earnings reports. The business had revenue of £443.30 million during the quarter. discoverIE Group had a net margin of 6.05% and a return on equity of 8.34%.

Here are the key takeaways from discoverIE Group’s conference call:

• Trading momentum improved through the year, with Q4 organic orders up 14% and sales up 5%, helping the company exit the year strongly and return to organic growth across the business.
• Adjusted operating profit rose 1% and adjusted EPS increased 4%, while the adjusted operating margin held relatively steady at 13.8% despite higher investment in growth.
• Cash generation remained very strong, with 92% free cash flow conversion, and working capital as a percentage of sales improved to 16.6%, supporting self-funded growth and acquisitions.
• The company completed or announced three acquisitions focused on higher-growth, higher-margin markets, particularly defense and aerospace, and expects the deals to be accretive to margins over time.
• Outlook and order momentum remain encouraging: Q1 trading started well, orders are still running ahead of sales, and management said the business is in good shape for the year ahead with a strong design-win and acquisition pipeline.

discoverIE Group Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of LON:DSCV opened at GBX 770 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of £747.83 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.28 and a beta of 1.19. discoverIE Group has a 1-year low of GBX 505 and a 1-year high of GBX 800. The company’s fifty day moving average is GBX 637.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is GBX 617.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 83.72, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.48.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on DSCV shares. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a GBX 685 price objective on shares of discoverIE Group in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Berenberg Bank reiterated a “buy” rating and set a GBX 950 price objective on shares of discoverIE Group in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Shore Capital Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of discoverIE Group in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a GBX 1,000 price objective on shares of discoverIE Group in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a GBX 870 price objective on shares of discoverIE Group in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of GBX 875.83.

About discoverIE Group

discoverIE Group plc is an international group of businesses that design and manufacture innovative electronic components for industrial use. The Group provides application-specific components to original equipment manufacturers (“OEMs”) internationally, with a focus on key markets driven by structural growth and increasing electronic content, namely renewable energy, medical, transportation, security, and industrial & connectivity.

The Group employs c.4,500 people across 20 countries. Its principal operating units are located in Continental Europe, the UK, China, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand, Mexico and the USA.