Wabtec Clocks 5% Sales Growth In Q1, Reiterates FY22 Guidance

Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corp WAB (Wabtec) reported first-quarter FY21 net sales growth of 5.3% year-over-year to $1.93 billion, missing the consensus of $1.98 billion.
Adjusted EPS of $1.13 (+27% Y/Y) topped the consensus of $1.12.
The gross margin expanded by 170 bps to 30.9%. The adjusted gross margin was 31.1%, up by 170 bps.
The operating margin was 12.4%, up by 190 bps on a GAAP basis and expanded by 140 bps to 16.5% on an adjusted basis.
Adjusted EBITDA increased by 9.1% Y/Y to $371 million, and margin expanded by 67 bps to 19.3%.
The backlog stood at $22.76 billion (+5% Y/Y). Wabtec generated cash from operating activities of $161 million versus $292 million in the year-ago period due primarily to the proactive building of inventory ahead of higher volumes and supply chain disruptions.
Wabtec had cash and equivalents of $488 million and total debt of $4.24 billion. The total available liquidity was $1.50 billion.
WAB repurchased $296 million of shares and raised the regular quarterly common dividend by 25% during the quarter.
FY22 Guidance reaffirmed: Wabtec continues to expect sales of $8.30 billion - $8.60 billion, versus the consensus of $8.39 billion and adjusted EPS of $4.65 - $5.05, versus the consensus of $4.84.
It expects strong cash flow generation with operating cash flow conversion of greater than 90%.
Price Action: WAB shares traded higher by 4.28% at $90.21 on the last check Wednesday.

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