Crane co. reports first quarter results
Stamford, conn.--(business wire)--crane co. (nyse: cr), a diversified manufacturer of highly engineered industrial products, reported first quarter 2017 earnings of $1.05 per diluted share, compared to $0.93 per share in the first quarter of 2016. first quarter 2017 sales were $673 million, up 2% compared to $660 million in 2016. core sales increased $28 million, or 4%, partially offset by a $12 million, or 2%, impact from unfavorable foreign exchange, and a small divestiture impact. max mitchell, crane co. president and chief executive officer, stated: "we are pleased with our strong start to the year, with first quarter operating results that were slightly better than anticipated. end market demand is generally as expected, and we continue to drive productivity, with strong execution evident across our businesses. we are also making consistent progress on growth initiatives throughout the organization. our performance in the first quarter gives us the confidence to raise the low end of our eps guidance range by $0.05, and we now expect full year eps of $4.35-$4.55." segment results all comparisons detailed in this section refer to operating results for the first quarter 2017 versus the first quarter 2016. fluid handling sales decreased $8 million, driven by $6 million, or -2%, of unfavorable foreign exchange and a $2 million, or -1%, core sales decline. operating margin improved to 11.3%, compared to 10.3% last year, primarily reflecting strong productivity, partially offset by lower volumes. fluid handling order backlog was $250 million at march 31, 2017 compared to $228 million at december 31, 2016, and $263 million at march 31, 2016. payment & merchandising technologies sales increased $24 million, or 14%, driven by $32 million, or 18%, of core growth, partially offset by a $6 million, or -3%, impact from unfavorable foreign exchange and a $2 million, or -1%, divestiture impact. operating margin expanded 370 basis points to 20.0%, driven primarily by the higher core sales and productivity. aerospace & electronics sales decreased $8 million, or 5%, primarily as a result of unfavorable comparisons related to shipment for a large military program in the first quarter of last year. operating margins increased 30 basis points to 19.6% driven by improved mix and productivity, partially offset by lower volumes. aerospace & electronics order backlog was $352 million at march 31, 2017, compared to $353 million at december 31, 2016, and $419 million at march 31, 2016. engineered materials sales increased $7 million, or 10%, driven by higher sales to the recreational vehicle and building products markets, partially offset by lower sales to the transportation market. operating margin decreased 140 basis points to 18.7%, as the higher volumes were offset by higher material costs. additional information additional information with respect to the company’s asbestos liability and related accounting provisions and cash requirements is set forth in the current report on form 8-k filed with a copy of this press release. conference call crane co. has scheduled a conference call to discuss the first quarter financial results on tuesday, april 25, 2017 at 10:00 a.m. (eastern). all interested parties may listen to a live webcast of the call at http://www.craneco.com. an archived webcast will also be available to replay this conference call directly from the company’s website. slides that accompany the conference call will be available on the company’s website. crane co. is a diversified manufacturer of highly engineered industrial products. founded in 1855, crane provides products and solutions to customers in the hydrocarbon processing, petrochemical, chemical, power generation, unattended payment, automated merchandising, aerospace, electronics, transportation and other markets. the company has four business segments: fluid handling, payment & merchandising technologies, aerospace & electronics and engineered materials. crane has approximately 11,000 employees in the americas, europe, the middle east, asia and australia. crane co. is traded on the new york stock exchange (nyse:cr). for more information, visit www.craneco.com. this press release may contain forward-looking statements as defined by the private securities litigation reform act of 1995. these statements present management’s expectations, beliefs, plans and objectives regarding future financial performance, and assumptions or judgments concerning such performance. any discussions contained in this press release, except to the extent that they contain historical facts, are forward-looking and accordingly involve estimates, assumptions, judgments and uncertainties. there are a number of factors that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those addressed in the forward-looking statements. such factors are detailed in the company’s annual report on form 10-k for the fiscal year ended december 31, 2016 and subsequent reports filed with the securities and exchange commission. (cr-e) (financial tables follow) crane co. income statement data (in millions, except per share data) supplemental data: crane co. condensed balance sheets (in millions) 2017 2016 3,428.0 3,428.0 crane co. condensed statements of cash flows (in millions) march 31, crane co. order backlog (in millions) september 30, 2016 june 30, 2016 march 31, 2016 crane co. guidance (in millions, except per share data)
