Hercules Offshore Beats on Both Top and Bottom Lines

Hercules Offshore (Nasdaq: HERO  ) reported earnings on Feb. 12. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), Hercules Offshore beat expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue grew significantly and GAAP earnings per share grew. The profit was a surprise, as analysts had predicted a loss.

Margins grew across the board.

Revenue details
Hercules Offshore notched revenue of $202.6 million. The 12 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ looked for revenue of $189.5 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 24% higher than the prior-year quarter's $162.8 million.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
EPS came in at $0.03. The 20 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted -$0.06 per share. GAAP EPS were $0.03 for Q4 versus -$0.16 per share for the prior-year quarter.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 40.7%, 970 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 10.6%, 1,680 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 2.1%, 1,530 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $210.0 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.03.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $911.9 million. The average EPS estimate is $0.31.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 1,550 members out of 1,614 rating the stock outperform, and 64 members rating it underperform. Among 392 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 381 give Hercules Offshore a green thumbs-up, and 11 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Hercules Offshore is outperform, with an average price target of $6.53.

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