Kewaunee Scientific (KEQU) research, news, and more from GeoInvesting

Company description

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Kewaunee Scientific Corporation is a recognized leader in the design, manufacture, and installation of scientific and technical furniture. The Company's corporate headquarters and domestic manufacturing facilities are located in Statesville, North Carolina. The Company has subsidiaries in Singapore and Bangalore, India which serve the Asian and Middle East markets. Kewaunee Scientific's website is located at.

Comments & Business Outlook

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 05:00:00 GMT

Third Quarter 2012 Results

.Sales for the quarter were $27,450,000, up 27% from sales of $21,574,000 in the third quarter last year.
Net earnings for the quarter were $544,000, or $0.21 per diluted share, as compared to a net loss of $122,000, or $0.05 per diluted share, in the third quarter last year.
The order backlog was $84.5 million at January 31, 2013, up from $77.1 million at January 31, 2012.

"We continued to make excellent progress during the quarter," said William A. Shumaker, Kewaunee's Chief Executive Officer. "I am pleased with sales and earnings, particularly since the third quarter is historically our slowest due to normal construction cycles and the large number of holidays. We continue to see positive results from our strengthened domestic dealer network and our broadened international dealer network. When combined with our lower manufacturing costs, this is providing us with more opportunities to close orders in both of these geographic markets.

"Looking forward, we expect to have a strong finish to our year. Incoming orders and customer delivery requirements for our metal furniture, fume hoods, and epoxy resin products have provided us a strong backlog of orders scheduled to ship in the fourth quarter. This increased demand and our lower costs are expected to more than offset the continuing lower demand for publicly-funded wood educational projects. It should be mentioned that results for the fourth quarter of last year were unusually strong, as results were favorably impacted by several large international projects that were manufactured and shipped during the quarter."

Comments & Business Outlook

Wed, 28 Nov 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Second Quarter 2013 Results

Sales for the quarter were a record $31,185,000, up 20% from sales of $25,962,000 in the second quarter last year.
Net earnings for the quarter were $649,000, or $0.25 per diluted share, as compared to a net loss of $125,000, or $0.05 per diluted share, in the second quarter last year.
The order backlog increased to a record $90.8 million at October 31, 2012, up from $78.0 million at October 31, 2011, as the Company continued to strengthen its market position.

"I am pleased with our progress in a number of important areas," said William A. Shumaker, Kewaunee's Chief Executive Officer. "Sales, earnings, and incoming orders were very strong for the quarter. We also made good progress in improving the quality of our order backlog, as we shipped several large direct contract projects from the backlog with less favorable product mixes and margins. This bodes well for earnings and margins going forward, as these type orders are generally being replaced in our backlog with orders received through our dealer organization, which typically have a more favorable product mix and are more profitable. I am confident this progress will continue in the second half of the year. It should be noted that third quarter is historically our slowest due to the holidays and the construction cycle.

"We continue to see positive results from our strengthened dealer network. Our dealers are ahead of their order booking goals for the fiscal year, and they continue to provide us increased bidding opportunities and orders. Working in partnership with them, we are also making excellent progress with laboratory planners and architects to strengthen our relationships and increase their preference for the Kewaunee brand.

"I should note that one of our directors, Patrick L. McCrory, has been elected Governor of North Carolina and will be resigning from the Kewaunee Board when he takes office in January 2013. Since joining our Board in May 2009, Pat has served the Company and our stockholders well, as he shared unique insights and perspectives obtained through his impressive career in the private sector and as a seven-term Mayor of Charlotte. The entire Board of Directors is grateful to Pat for his leadership and guidance.

Comments & Business Outlook

Wed, 22 Aug 2012 04:00:00 GMT

First Quarter 2013 Results

Sales for the quarter were $26,683,000, up 1.4% from sales of $26,321,000 in the first quarter last year.
Net earnings for the quarter were $634,000, or $0.25 per diluted share, up from net earnings of $22,000, or $0.01 per diluted share, in the first quarter of the prior year.
The order backlog increased to a record $86.7 million at July 31, 2012, up from $86.2 million at April 30, 2012 and $69.7 million at July 31, 2011.

"We are pleased with our continuing progress," said William A. Shumaker, Kewaunee's Chief Executive Officer. "Sales and earnings are benefiting from our strengthened and expanded dealer network, new innovative products being introduced to the marketplace, and lower manufacturing and overhead costs. Additionally, earnings and profit margins are benefiting from an improved product mix related to our strategy to sell more laboratory projects through our dealer network.

"Looking forward, I expect sales and earnings for fiscal year 2013 to be much improved over fiscal year 2012. Our strengthened dealer organization, both domestically and internationally, is providing us increased opportunities for sales and orders, while our lower operating costs are improving profit margins and making us more competitive in the marketplace."

Pump and Dump Watch

Mon, 02 Jul 2012 04:00:00 GMT

Disclosure: GeoInvesting is providing this information for your edification and in no way has any affiliation with any promoters and/or newsletters disseminating information on KEQU, nor is GeoInvesting being paid to post this information. At times, the GeoTeam may trade P&D's on a long or short basis, depending on how we feel the momentum of the stocks will be affected by the efforts of stock promoters and any ensuing dumps.

Comments & Business Outlook

Wed, 27 Jun 2012 04:00:00 GMT

Fourth Quarter 2012 Results

Net earnings for the fourth quarter were $1,256,000, or $0.49 per diluted share, up from net earnings of $252,000, or $0.10 per diluted share, in the same period of the prior year.
Sales for the quarter were $28,990,000, up 8% from sales of $26,952,000 in the same period of the prior year. Sales from domestic operations were $19,607,000, down 10% from sales of $21,797,000 in the prior year.

The order backlog increased to a record $86.2 million at April 30, 2012, up from $65.7 million at April 30, 2011, with both domestic and international orders contributing to the growth. The backlog at April 30, 2012 includes a contract awarded during the quarter for laboratory furniture and equipment for the Kuwait University College of Engineering and Petroleum-Women's Campus. The contract, which is in excess of $11 million, was awarded through Kewaunee's dealer in Kuwait, Advanced Technology Company (ATC). The Company expects to begin manufacturing and shipping products under the contract in the late summer or early fall of calendar year 2013. The majority of the manufactured products will be produced at the Company's Statesville facilities. This contract is another indication of the Company's increased international presence and capabilities.

"We are very pleased with our operating results for the quarter," said William A. Shumaker, Kewaunee's Chief Executive Officer. "Our international operations had an outstanding quarter for sales and earnings, as manufacturing and shipping occurred under several large contracts. In Statesville, earnings improved significantly, as we experienced lower operating costs resulting from cost savings initiatives."

Outlook

"Looking forward to fiscal year 2013, I remain cautiously optimistic," Mr. Shumaker continued. "My optimism is based on a number of factors. On the domestic front, we enter the year with a strengthened and expanded dealer network, which we believe will result in increased sales and earnings. We are also realizing lower operating costs from our cost savings initiatives put in place over the past year. On the international front, we have also strengthened and expanded our dealer network, better positioning us to take advantage of the growing number of laboratory project opportunities in Asia and the Middle East. Furthermore, both domestic and international operations will benefit from our record order backlog.

"At the same time, fiscal year 2013 will present us with significant challenges. The ongoing world-wide economic slowdown continues to depress construction activity and pricing in the marketplace. Customer delivery requirements for large international projects, more so than domestic projects, often are delayed due to changes in construction schedules, resulting in uneven reportable sales and earnings."

GeoSpecial Notes

Thu, 24 Jun 2010 04:00:00 GMT

We are removing Kewaunee Scientific from the GeoSpecial list. EPS growth has not been spectacular or consistent. Furthermore, The company is also highly dependent on the economy, which is still in a fragile state.

Added to the GeoBargain list on June 24, 2009 @ $11.10

Peak performance: Reached a high of $13.10 on August 26, 2009.

Removed from the GeoBargain list and Added to the GeoSpecial list on August 29, 2009 @ $13.10

Peak performance: Reached a high of $16.42 on February 25, 2010 .
Current Price: $11.65

Financials

Wed, 26 Aug 2009 04:00:00 GMT

1st QUARTER 2010 vs. 2009 FINANCIAL SNAPSHOT ENDED JULY

	1st Quarter 2010	1st Quarter 2009	Period Change
GAAP Revenue	$26.2 million	$25.4 million	3.0%
GAAP EPS	$0.42	$0.38	10.5%
Fully Diluted Shares	2.56 million	2.57 million	0.0%

Source: See Release, August 26, 2009

FULL YEAR 2009 vs. 2008 FINANCIAL SNAPSHOT ENDED APRIL

	Full Year 2009	Full Year 2008	Period Change
GAAP Revenue	$103.98 million	$89.51 million	16.17%
GAAP EPS	$1.66	$1.23	34.96%
Fully Diluted Shares	2.56 million	2.56 million	0.0%

Source: See Release, June 24, 2009

GeoBargain Notes

Wed, 26 Aug 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Kewaunee Scientific (NASDAQ:KEQU) was added to the GeoBargain list on June 24, 2009, due to strong April ending 2009 fourth quarter results. Yesterday, the Company reported its 2010 first quarter financial results, prompting the GeoTeam® to reconsider KEQU 's inclusion on the GeoBargain list. Top and bottom line growth were well below the minimum GeoBargain requirements.

1st QUARTER 2010 vs. 2009 FINANCIAL SNAPSHOT ENDED JULY

	1st Quarter 2010	1st Quarter 2009	Period Change
GAAP Revenue	$26.2 million	$25.4 million	3.0%
GAAP EPS	$0.42	$0.38	10.5%

Source: See Release, August 26, 2009

Select Valuation Items

Price: $13.10 (8/25/09)
Trailing P/E: 7.71
PEG Ratio: 0.73
Book Value Per Share: 11.49

The stock still reacted positively to yesterday morning's financial news, possibly a reaction to the company also announcing a 25% increase in its quarterly dividend. This action could signify that better earnings per share growth is in the cards for the remainder of the year. There are also positive overtones in the fact that over the last three years Kewaunee Scientific 's second quarter has been sequentially higher than its first quarter. Still, it doesn't appear that KEQU will be able to achieve the GeoBargain required growth traits for 2009. Notwithstanding this shortcoming, the stock is still selling at a P/E of 7.71 and a PEG ratio under 1 which may attract value investors. Accordingly, we are reclassifying KEQU as a GeoSpecial. If the stock can attain a modest P/E of 10, matching its 2009 first quarter EPS growth rate, then it could reach $17.70.

Comments & Business Outlook

Wed, 26 Aug 2009 04:00:00 GMT

"Overall, the markets for our products are continuing to hold up well under the global economic slowdown. The domestic laboratory furniture marketplace continues to be healthy, particularly for larger construction projects where our bidding activity remains strong. We also continue to experience good overall bidding activity for smaller domestic laboratory projects, with the level of activity varying by geographic area and market segment. The international laboratory marketplace, while softer than last year, is providing an increasing number of opportunities. The full manufacturing capabilities and lower costs of our new plant in Bangalore, India, are making us more competitive in the Asian marketplace. Both the domestic and international markets remain highly-competitive."

Source: PR Newswire (August 25, 2009)

Comments & Business Outlook

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 04:00:00 GMT

'Looking toward fiscal year 2010, we believe a number of factors have the Company well-positioned for another good year,' continued Mr. Shumaker. 'A healthy domestic laboratory furniture marketplace, our record order backlog, and excellent performances by our factories are providing us strong momentum. The Asian laboratory furniture marketplace, which was soft the past year, is expected to improve and provide increased opportunities. The move to our new, modern plant in Bangalore, India, is now complete. This plant has full manufacturing capabilities which positions us to compete more broadly for additional projects in Asia and the Middle East. Next year will also present a number of challenges. These include uncertainty as to when the global economic slowdown will end and higher pension costs for the Company due to losses in our pension investments portfolio.'

Source: PR Newswire (June 24, 2009)