GGRAsia – Crane 3Q profit down 25pct, declares 4Q dividend

Crane 3Q profit down 25pct, declares 4Q dividend

Oct 29, 2019 Newsdesk Industry Talk, Latest News

Crane Co, a United States-based industrial products conglomerate that sells payment processing technology to the financial sector including casinos, saw its third-quarter group profit fall 25.3 percent year on-year.

Such profit for the three months to September 30 was US$72.5 million, compared to US$97 million a year earlier.

Max Mitchell, Crane Co president and chief executive, said in prepared remarks issued in a press release on the quarterly figures: “Operationally, we delivered another solid quarter of results.”

But he added that at the group’s unit Crane Currency, sales and orders from the United States government for banknote printing “were well below our expectations”.

In other developments, Crane Co declared on Monday a dividend of US$0.39 per share for the fourth quarter of 2019. The dividend is payable on December 9 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on November 29.

In its third-quarter results, Crane Co said that in its payment and merchandising technologies segment – which includes cash handling technology for casinos – sales decreased by 23.9 percent year-on-year, i.e., by nearly US$79 million, to circa US$249 million, versus circa US$327 million in the prior-year period.

It stated there was 22 percent of “core decline” in that segment, and 2 percent of “unfavourable foreign exchange” as well as a US$2-million “impact from a divestiture”.

Profit margin fell 3.4 percentage points, to 14.1 percent, compared to 17.5 percent in the prior-year period.

Group-wide, quarterly sales were US$772.3 million, a decrease of 9.8 percent compared to the US$855.8 million achieved in the third quarter of 2018.

Crane Co said the group-sales decrease consisted of a US$69-million, or 8-percent, decline in core sales; and a US$12-million, or 1-percent, impact from unfavourable foreign exchange, as well as a US$2-million impact related to divestiture activity.

Excluding special items, third-quarter earnings per share were US$1.40 compared to US$1.62 in the third quarter of 2018.

CEO Mr Mitchell said in the press release that, in the light of issues including U.S. government banknote orders, the group was reducing its earnings per share guidance for full-year 2019 – excluding special items – to a range of US$5.90 to US6.10, from its prior forecast of US$6.25 to US$6.45.

“We remain very excited about the medium- and long-term demand profile for Crane Currency – both with the U.S. government, as well as with our international customers –and we see many opportunities for growth and profit improvement at this business,” stated the CEO.