Gehl Co. lowers full-year outlook
Shares of Gehl Co. (Nasdaq: GEHL) are bleeding this morning after the manufacturer and distributor of compact equipment for construction and agricultural applications recorded lackluster third-quarter results and lowered its full-year guidance.
For the three months ended Sept. 30, the West Bend, Wis.-based company recorded income from continuing operations of $5 million, or $0.40 per diluted share, below the $0.56 per share three analysts polled by Thomson Financial were expecting on average. For the third quarter of 2006, Gehl recorded income from continuing operations of $7.4 million, or $0.59 per diluted share.
Net sales were $104.9 million, compared with net sales of $121 million in the third quarter of 2006. Two analysts polled by Thomson Financial were expecting revenue of $120.1 million.
Going forward, Gehl said it was lowering its full-year outlook based on the company’s results in the first nine months of 2007, current backlog position and management’s expectation that the North American housing market will continue to experience weakness for the balance of 2007. Gehl said it now expects net sales from continuing operations in the range of $445 million to $460 million and earnings per diluted share from continuing operations of $1.90 to $2. Gehl had previously estimated earnings would range between $2.05 and $2.25 per share. The consensus of three analysts polled by Thomson Financial is for earnings of $2.15 for the full year.
Shares of Gehl (GEHL) slipped 12.83%, or $2.68, to $18.36 in morning trading. Shares of Gehl have been trading in the range of $19.66 to $33.17 for the past 52 weeks.
