Wabtec reports record 1Q earnings

Wilmerdering, Pa.-based Wabtec Corp. Tuesday reported record earnings and sales in its first quarter, and increased its 2011 earnings guidance.

Earnings per diluted share of 85 cents, totaling $41 million, in the first quarter was 35% higher than the $30.4 million, or 63 cents per diluted share, in the comparable quarter in 2010; earnings also beat Wall Street’s range of estimates by at least three cents. Sales of $455 million were 25% higher than a year ago, attributed to growth in the company’s Freight Group. Wabtec’s backlog at the end of the first quarter also set a company record, at $1.5 billion, 39% higher than at year’s end 2010.

The company increased its full-year 2011 earnings guidance to a range of $3.20-to-$3.30 a share, up from a range of $3.15-to-$3.25 a share.

Albert J. Neupaver, Wabtec’s president and chief executive officer, said, “The company’s performance in the quarter was strong, and we’re optimistic about the rest of the year. Freight rail traffic volumes continue to increase, which is driving growth in all segments of that market. Our transit business has remained stable, as we expected. We will continue to make investments in strategic growth opportunities and to manage our operations through ongoing application of the Wabtec Performance System.”

Analyst Steve Barger, director, Industrial Manufacturers, for KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc., observed, “In our view, the impressive performance in the Freight sales growth is a positive read through to the railcar OEMs. Given the performance in the quarter in conjunction with the increase in full-year guidance, we would expect the stock to react favorably today.”

Shares of Wabtec were up roughly 2.3% in mid-morning trading Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange.