Actuant sees Q1 below Street, shares fall

(Reuters) - Diversified manufacturer Actuant Corp (ATU.N) reported fourth-quarter results that topped market estimates, helped by lower expenses, but forecast first-quarter results below Wall Street expectations, sending its shares down 5 percent before the bell.

"Visibility in our later cycle energy segment remains challenging as the number of capital projects industry-wide has declined steadily over the past six months," Chief Executive Robert Arzbaecher said in a statement.

The energy segment provides rope and cable solutions to the global oil and gas, and power generation markets.

Actuant, whose products range from plugs and sockets to precision control systems for automobiles, said it assumes an overall fiscal 2010 core sales decline of 3 percent to 8 percent, driven by continued difficult comparisons in the first half of the fiscal year.

For the first quarter, the company sees earnings of 12 cents to 17 cents a share, excluding restructuring charges, on revenue of $280 million to $300 million.

Analysts on average were expecting earnings of 22 cents a share, before special items, on revenue of $307.6 million, according to Reuters Estimates.

However, the company said with customer inventory destocking moderating, sequential and year-over-year revenue are expected to improve in the second half of 2010.

Actuant, which divested its Acme Aerospace business to aircraft parts maker TransDigm Group Inc (TDG.N) in the fourth quarter, expects to earn 70 cents to 95 cents, excluding restructuring costs, in fiscal 2010.

For the full year, it sees revenue of $1.15 billion to $1.25 billion. Analysts were expecting earnings of 90 cents a share, before items, on revenue of $1.18 billion.

Q4 RESULTS BEAT STREET

For the fourth quarter ended August 31, net income fell to $16.5 million, or 24 cents a share, compared with $34.2 million, or 54 cents a share, a year ago.

Excluding items, the company earned 18 cents a share from continuing operations.

Revenue for the company, whose key raw materials include steel, copper, brass and rubber, fell 26 percent to $290.1 million.

Sales at the industrial segment, which makes hydraulic and mechanical tools for the industrial, infrastructure and production automation markets, fell 37 percent to $61.8 million in the fourth quarter.

Engineered solutions segment sales also fell 37 percent, due to weak demand from truck and specialty vehicle markets.

Analysts on average were expecting earnings of 16 cents a share, before special items, on revenue of $283.1 million.

Selling, administrative and engineering expenses fell 22 percent to $65.2 million.

Shares of the Butler, Wisconsin-based company fell 5 percent to $14.41 before the bell. They closed at $15.17 Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange.

(Reporting by Bhaswati Mukhopadhyay in Bangalore; Editing by Jarshad Kakkrakandy)