Noranda Aluminum Holding Beats Estimates but Has a Big Earnings Drop

Noranda Aluminum Holding reported earnings on April 25. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), Noranda Aluminum Holding met expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.
Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue dropped and GAAP earnings per share dropped significantly.
Gross margins contracted, operating margins grew, net margins dropped.
Revenue details Noranda Aluminum Holding booked revenue of $353.5 million. The five analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated revenue of $352.0 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 10% lower than the prior-year quarter's $394.6 million.
Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.
EPS details Non-GAAP EPS came in at $0.18. The six earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated $0.06 per share on the same basis. GAAP EPS of $0.24 for Q1 were 57% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.56 per share.

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Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.
Margin details For the quarter, gross margin was 13.9%, 290 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 10.8%, 30 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 4.6%, 510 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.
Looking ahead Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $373.8 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.21.
Next year's average estimate for revenue is $1.49 billion. The average EPS estimate is $0.92.
Investor sentiment The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 33 members out of 36 rating the stock outperform, and three members rating it underperform. Among 10 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 10 give Noranda Aluminum Holding a green thumbs-up, and none give it a red thumbs-down.
Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Noranda Aluminum Holding is outperform, with an average price target of $13.31.
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