Jabil Circuit's Q1 Solid Despite Weakness In Its Apple-Related Business

Shares of Jabil Circuit, Inc. JBL set a new 52-week high of $25.14 after reporting better-than-expected first quarter results despite weakness in its Apple Inc. AAPL-related business.

Jabil’s first quarter sales of $5.1 billion and EPS ex-options of $0.69 beat Consensus at $4.9 billion /$0.64. The second quarter guidance was for sales of $4.2-$4.5 billion and EPS of $0.35 -$0.57, in line with the Street’s $4.36 billion/$0.46, at the midpoint.

The solid results were attributed to strong Diversified Manufacturing (DM) sales and Electronics Manufacturing (EM) margins.

“F2Q-17 guidance was in-line at the midpoint, but mgmt's comments about F4Q-17 were well above expectations, driven by a positive view on mobility and 20%+ growth in healthcare and packaging,” Deutsche Bank analyst Sherri Scribner wrote in a note.

On the flip side, Jabil’s Apple-related business was weaker than expected and lower product volumes and heavy OpEx spend ahead of new product ramps are expected to hurt DM profitability in the second and third quarters.

However, Jabil hopes that mobility (Apple) will have a strong fourth quarter and expects DM sales to approach revenue run rates similar to two year ago of $1.9 billion.

“We are raising our PT to $22 from $20 on a move to FY-18 for valuation, but given challenges to some segments are offset by strength in mothers, we view current valuations as fair and maintain our Hold,” Scribner added.

At last check, shares of Jabil Circuit surged 15.60 percent to $24.93.