General Cable Goes Negative

General Cable (NYSE: BGC  ) reported earnings on Feb. 25. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), General Cable met expectations on revenues and met expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue increased significantly. Non-GAAP earnings per share dropped. GAAP earnings per share contracted to a loss.

Margins dropped across the board.

Revenue details
General Cable chalked up revenue of $1.60 billion. The six analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated revenue of $1.62 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 17% higher than the prior-year quarter's $1.37 billion.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
EPS came in at $0.28. The six earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ forecast $0.28 per share. Non-GAAP EPS of $0.28 for Q4 were 6.7% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.30 per share. GAAP EPS were -$0.35 for Q4 compared to $0.09 per share for the prior-year quarter.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 8.3%, 100 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 0.3%, 200 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -1.1%, 140 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $1.66 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.48.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $6.92 billion. The average EPS estimate is $2.75.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 609 members out of 636 rating the stock outperform, and 27 members rating it underperform. Among 159 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 153 give General Cable a green thumbs-up, and six give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on General Cable is outperform, with an average price target of $36.20.

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