Stanley Black & Decker Posts Higher Q1 Earnings

reported upbeat earnings for the first quarter on Thursday. The New Britain, Connecticut-based company reported quarterly earnings of $162.3 million, or $1.04 per share, compared to $161.9 million, or $1.02 per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding items, the company's earnings from continuing operations came in at $1.07 per share. Its revenue rose 1 percent to $2.63 billion. However, analysts were expecting a profit of $0.95 per share on revenue of $2.6 billion. Tools & storage net sales rose 3 percent year-over-year, while security net sales slipped 6 percent. Industrial net sales dropped 2 percent in the quarter. Operating margin widened 120 basis points to 13.3 percent in the quarter, while gross margin rate rose 50 basis points to 37.0 percent. The average estimate among 7 Estimize users was for earnings of $0.97 per share and revenue of $2.63 billion. President and Chief Operating Officer, James M. Loree, said, "The first quarter of 2015 represented another strong quarter of organic growth and margin expansion for Stanley Black & Decker. The formation of our new Tools & Storage platform is proceeding as planned, with the larger and stronger business poised for long-term profitable growth. Our Engineered Fastening business maintained its impressive performance during the quarter and while emerging markets remain challenging, we continue to be optimistic about our ability to generate above market growth in these regions due to our prior investments in support of our mid-price point product launches." For the full year, Stanley Black & Decker reiterated its GAAP earnings forecast of $5.65 to $5.85 per share. Stanley Black & Decker shares gained 1.06 percent to close at $98.11 yesterday.