Positioning and navigation tech firm posts 52-week high on results
Trimble Navigation Ltd. on Thursday reported a 10 percent increase in third quarter revenue to $556.5 million on a 17 percent jump in net income to $101.9 million, or $0.39 earnings per share.
Sunnyvale, Calif.-based, publicly traded (Nasdaq: TRMB) Trimble, with $2 billion in 2012 revenue, uses positioning technologies – GPS, lasers and optics – to focus on applications requiring position or location, including surveying, construction, agriculture, fleet and asset management, public safety and mapping.
Third quarter results beat analysts’ average EPS expectations by three cents a share but missed consensus on revenue by about $2.6 billion.
The stock surged Friday to a new 52-week high of $33.84. Its 52-week low is $24.52. Trimble’s market capitalization is $8.5 billion.
“Although the worldwide economic environment is expected to remain challenging into 2014 and a constraint to robust growth, we did see encouraging signs in the quarter, particularly in survey instruments, building construction and agriculture,” said Steven Berglund, Trimble CEO, adding that demand from those markets bode well for improved organic growth next year over 2013.
Trimble’s four operating segments
Engineering and Construction (E&C)
- Third quarter E&C revenue was $310.6 million, up 8 percent as compared to the third quarter of 2012 due to organic sales growth in survey, heavy civil, buildings, and positioning services and from the impact of acquisitions.
- Adjusted operating income in E&C for the third quarter was $76.4 million, or 24.6 percent of revenue, as compared to 24.8 percent of revenue in the third quarter of 2012.
Field Solutions
- Third quarter Field Solutions revenue was $99.5 million, down 3 percent as compared to the third quarter of 2012, due to softer sales of Geographical Information System (GIS) solutions, partially offset by growth in agricultural solutions sales.
- Adjusted operating income was $32.1 million, or 32.3 percent of revenue, as compared to $36.6 million, or 35.6 percent of revenue, in the third quarter. The decrease in operating margin was due primarily to lower revenue from government GIS sales. Adjusted operating margins in agriculture were consistent with the prior year.
Mobile Solutions
- Third quarter Mobile Solutions revenue was $113.6 million, up 35 percent as compared to the third quarter of 2012 due primarily to higher revenue from transportation and logistics sales, both from the organic business and acquisitions.
- Adjusted operating income for the third quarter was $16.2 million, or 14.3 percent of revenue, as compared to $8.9 million, or 10.6 percent of revenue, in the third quarter of 2012. The increase was primarily due to higher revenue from software, subscription and services, the company said.
Advanced Devices
- Third quarter Advanced Devices revenue was $32.9 million, up 7 percent as compared to the third quarter of 2012, primarily due to stronger sales of RFID solutions.
- Adjusted operating income in Advanced Devices was $9.3 million, or 28.4 percent of revenue, as compared to $6.2 million, or 20.3 percent of revenue, in the third quarter of 2012.
Q4 Outlook
For the fourth quarter, Trimble said it expects revenue of $560 million – $580 million and EPS of $0.35 – $0.39. Analysts are expecting fourth quarter sales of $564.4 million and EPS of $0.35.
