ATTLEBORO – Sensata Technologies reported a $70.7 million profit in the third quarter, a 52.6% decline year over year.
Earnings per diluted share in the third quarter were 44 cents, compared with 88 cents one year prior
The decline in profit is largely a reflection of a sale of the company’s valves unit in the third quarter of 2018 for an after-tax gain of $63.7 million. However, the company still acknowledged that revenues did not meet expectations for the quarter.
Revenue in the third quarter was $849.7 million, a 2.7% decline year over year. The company’s Performing Sensing segment reported a revenue or $628.6 million, a 3.2% decline year over year. The company’s Sensing Solutions segment revenue totaled $221.1 million in the quarter, a 1.3% decline year over year.
“Despite lower than expected revenues as a result of sustained end market weakness, we exceeded our guidance for adjusted operating margin in the third quarter, while generating strong free cash flow,” said Martha Sullivan, CEO of Sensata. “Our continued focus on margins and profitability coupled with our proven ability to identify and implement cost-cutting initiatives, enables us to react quickly to changing market conditions and limit the impact of weaker end market demand on our bottom-line results.”
The company said that it had repurchased $97.6 million in stock in the third quarter and that as of Sept. 30, $422 million remains available for share repurchases.
“Even in the face of these efficiency initiatives, we continued to sustain long-term investments in growth initiatives such as Electrification and Smart & Connected, which we believe are critical to our future success,” said Sullivan. “We anticipate that our end markets will remain weak and that our customers will likely reduce inventory through the remainder of this year. As a result, we are lowering our full year 2019 revenue and EPS guidance to reflect this evolving demand environment, while continuing to position Sensata for future growth opportunities.”
