UPDATE: Regal Beloit Misses Q4 Expectations

reported weaker-than-expected earnings for the fourth quarter. The Beloit, Wisconsin-based company posted a quarterly loss of $116.5 million, or $2.61 per share, versus a year-ago loss of $33.2 million, or $0.74 per share. Excluding items, the company earned $0.82 per share. Its revenue climbed 6.6% to $775.6 million. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.94 per share on revenue of $782.2 million. Power Transmission net sales climbed 13% to $68 million, while Commercial and Industrial Systems net sales rose 5% to $451 million. Climate Solutions net sales surged 9% to $256 million. Adjusted operating profit margin came in relatively flat at 7.8%. Net cash provided by operating activities rose 7%. Regal Chairman and CEO Mark Gliebe said, "We are executing on the three-year plan we laid out for investors in December 2014. Current business conditions give us confidence in our North American operations but unfavorable currency translation, uncertainty in Europe and a decline in oil and gas investments will be headwinds in 2015. Despite these challenges, we continue to expect our margin improvement initiatives will enable us to achieve the first year targets for our legacy businesses that we communicated in December." For the year, Regal Beloit projects earnings of $5.45 to $5.85 per share. Regal Beloit shares rose 1.43% to close at $76.14 on Friday.