It has been about a month since the last earnings report for Core Laboratories (CLB). Shares have lost about 16% in that time frame, underperforming the S&P 500.
Will the recent negative trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Core Laboratories due for a breakout? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at the most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important catalysts.
Core Laboratories reported fourth-quarter 2024 adjusted earnings of 23 cents per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 21 cents. The bottom line also increased from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure of 19 cents. This can be attributed to the better-than-expected performance of Reservoir Description segment.
This oil-field service provider’s operating revenues of $129.2 million missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $131 million by 1.4%, due to poor year-over-year performance from its Production Enhancement segment. However, the top line increased 0.9% from the year-ago quarter’s $128 million. This can be attributed to the Reservoir Description segment’s impressive performance.
During the fourth quarter, the company repurchased 264,982 shares of common stock for a total of $4.9 million. Additionally, the company reduced its debt leverage ratio to 1.31 and decreased net debt by $11.7 million.
As of Dec. 31, 2024, the company's leverage ratio, calculated as total net debt divided by adjusted EBITDA for the last four quarters, decreased to 1.31, improving from 1.47 as of Sept. 30, 2024.
Reservoir Description: Revenues in this segment increased about 2.1% to $86.8 million from $85 million in the fourth quarter of 2023. However, the top line missed our estimation of $$88.2 million.
Operating income increased from $12 million in the year-ago period to $16.5 million and beat our estimate of $12.6 million. This was due to increased demand for reservoir rock and fluid analysis in international and U.S. markets.
Production Enhancement: This segment’s revenues decreased 3.6% to $42.4 million from $44 million in the prior year quarter. Moreover, the top line missed our estimate of $42.7 million.
Operating loss of $2.6 million was below our estimate of an operating income of $3.6 million. This decrease was primarily due to lower U.S. onshore completion activity, which led to a reduction in product sales. The metric decreased from the year-ago quarter’s reported profit of $2.2 million.
CLB reported total costs and expenses of $115.1 million in the fourth quarter, increasing 1.3% from the year-ago quarter’s level. The figure was slightly lower than our estimation of $115.2 million.
As of Dec. 31, 2024, The company had cash and cash equivalents of $19.2 million and long-term debt of $126.1 million. CLB’s debt-to-capitalization was 32.9%.
Net cash provided by operating activities totaled $20.6 million, while capital expenditure amounted to $4.4 million. This led to a positive free cash flow of $16 million.
Core Laboratories’ board of directors declared a quarterly dividend of 1 cent per share to its common shareholders of record as of Feb. 10. The payout, which is unchanged from the previous quarter, will be made on March 3.
In the past month, investors have witnessed a downward trend in estimates revision.
The consensus estimate has shifted -9.76% due to these changes.
Currently, Core Laboratories has a great Growth Score of A, though it is lagging a lot on the Momentum Score front with an F. However, the stock was allocated a grade of B on the value side, putting it in the second quintile for this investment strategy.
Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of B. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.
Estimates have been broadly trending downward for the stock, and the magnitude of these revisions indicates a downward shift. Notably, Core Laboratories has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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