U.S.-based Crane Co on Monday reported a 8.9-percent increase in net income for the three months ended March 31 compared with a year earlier. The company is a supplier of payment and merchandising technology to the gaming industry.
New York Stock Exchange-listed Crane Co posted net income of US$68.7 million for the first quarter of 2018, or US$1.13 per diluted share, compared to US$63.1 million, or US$1.05 per share, in the first quarter of 2017.
Based on the first-quarter results, management raised its 2018 full-year guidance for earnings per share – on a U.S.-generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) basis – to between US$4.75 and US$4.95. That compares with a prior range of US$4.65 to US$4.85.
Full-year 2018 free cash flow – cash provided by operating activities less capital spending – is now expected to be between US$240 million and US$270 million, compared to the prior range of US$220 million to US$250 million.
Crane Co reported total net sales of US$799.1 million for the period, up 18.7 percent from the prior-year period.
Operating profit in the January to March period increased to US$94.3 million, compared to US$93.3 million in the prior-year period.
“On the heels of record results last year, we are off to a solid start in 2018,” said Crane Co president and chief executive, Max Mitchell. “Beyond the core business, our repositioning activities and the Crane Currency acquisition integration are progressing as expected, and we are making good progress on our growth initiatives,” he added.
Crane Co completed in January the acquisition of Crane and Co Inc – also known as Crane Currency – for US$800 million. The latter firm is a supplier of micro-optic technology, which can be used for security purposes for specialised products such as printed banknotes.
Crane Co is an industrial conglomerate that supplies payment and merchandising technology to the global gaming industry. The company also provides high-specification engineered industrial products to customers in the aerospace, electronics, hydrocarbon processing, petrochemical, chemical, power generation, automated merchandising, transportation and other markets.
The group’s payment and merchandising technology division – which supplies products to clients in the casino industry – recorded sales of US$292 million for the three months ended March 31, up by 49.0 percent in year-on-year terms. The segment recorded operating profit of US$37 million for the period, down from US$38 million for the prior-year period, Crane Co said in a release. That was partially due to “the impact of the Crane Currency acquisition, restructuring and integration-related charges,” the firm said.
Crane Co also announced on Monday a regular quarterly dividend of US$0.35 per share for the second quarter of 2018. The dividend is payable on June 8 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on May 31.
