Shares Of EnerSys Rise After Higher 4Q Earnings

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Shares of EnerSys Inc. jumped Tuesday, a day after the industrial battery maker credited cost-cutting and lower commodity prices with helping lift fiscal fourth-quarter adjusted profit.

However, an analyst predicted revenue will not rise for a while because markets for several EnerSys products — batteries and chargers for lift trucks, ground support, mining and other equipment — will not improve soon.

Analyst Michael W. Gallo of CL King and Associates also said in a note to investors that even when the economy improves, the costs of lead may rise faster than prices, pressing margins for EnerSys.

Order rates have been relatively stable in the current quarter, Gallo said. He expects revenue to "start to flatten out" in the September quarter.

Shares rose $1.03, or 6 percent, to $18.26 in afternoon trading Tuesday. The stock has traded between $5.71 and $37.71 over the past year.

The company on Monday reported earnings of $3.3 million, or 7 cents per share, for the quarter ended March 31, compared with $19.5 million, or 39 cents per share, in the year-earlier quarter. Excluding a $13.8 million restructuring charge, the company earned 36 cents per share in the latest quarter.

Sales dropped 32 percent to $393.2 million from $581.9 million.

Analysts, who typically exclude one-time losses or gains, expected earnings of 28 cents per share on sales of $399.9 million, according to a Thomson Reuters poll.