Dj Quaker Houghton Price Target Cut To $169.00/Share From $172.00 By Rbc Capital

Quaker Chemical Corporation KWR recorded earnings of 81 cents per share in the fourth quarter of 2024, down from earnings of $1.12 per share in the year-ago quarter.

Barring one-time items, earnings came in at $1.33 per share for the reported quarter, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.62.

Find the latest earnings estimates and surprises on Zacks Earnings Calendar.

Net sales fell around 5% year over year to $444.1 million in the quarter. Sales, however, beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $441.7 million. The downside was due to lower selling prices and product mix, unfavorable currency swings and reduced organic sales volumes due to weak end-market conditions.

KWR’s Segment Highlights

Sales from the Americas segment fell around 8% year over year to $208.6 million in the reported quarter. It was above the consensus estimate of $201 million. Sales were hurt by lower sales volumes, unfavorable currency impact, and decreased selling price and product mix.

The EMEA unit recorded sales of $125.9 million in the quarter, down 7% year over year. It missed the consensus estimate of $130 million. Lower selling prices and mix as well as reduced organic sales volumes impacted sales.

The Asia/Pacific unit logged sales of $109.6 million, up around 5% year over year. It beat the consensus estimate of $107 million. Higher sales volumes and contributions from the Sutai Group acquisition more than offset a decline in selling price and product mix.

KWR’s FY24 Results

Earnings (as reported) for full-year 2024 were $6.51 per share, up from $6.26 a year ago. Sales fell around 6% year over year to around $1,839.7 million.

Quaker Chemical’s Financials

The company ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of around $188.9 million, down roughly 3% year over year. Long-term debt was around $669.6 million, down around 8% from the prior year.

KWR generated an operating cash flow of $204.6 million in 2024.

The company returned $82.4 million to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases in 2024.

KWR’s Outlook

Quaker Chemical noted that it remains committed to delivering sustained growth and share gains by advancing its enterprise strategy, refocusing the organization around its customer intimate model and effectively allocating capital. It is taking additional actions that are expected to deliver run-rate cost savings of at least $20 million this year. KWR expects these actions to boost its operational efficiency, improve competitiveness and allow it to better leverage its global scale. It expects to deliver revenue, adjusted EBITDA and earnings growth in 2025.

KWR’s Stock Price Performance

Quaker Chemical’s shares have lost 27.1% in the past year compared with the Zacks Chemicals Specialty industry’s 20.8% decline.

Quaker Houghton has an average rating of overweight and mean price target of $178.17, according to analysts polled by FactSet.

Quaker Houghton has an average rating of overweight and mean price target of $178.17, according to analysts polled by FactSet.