Excerpt from: Janet Purdy Levaux...
The earnings part in her article caught my eye..."This fiscal year<2001>, though, they're expected to grow 80 percent -- to about 92 cents a share."
Anyone know what is considered a fair P/E for Electrical Services is 5or6 x forward earnings high or normal...I haven't followed electric infrastructure stuff closely before?
Def
Integrated Electrical Services (IEE), for instance, had sales of $1.7 billion in the fiscal year ended Sept. 30. It reported gross margins of about 18 percent. In fiscal 1999, gross margins were roughly 21 percent.
Integrated's operating margin is about 2.5 percent, including non-cash compensation charges. Excluding this item, the Houston-based company's operating margin would have been about 6 percent.
Bright future
But if Integrated's results are any indication of how things may go for Cupertino, things should continue to improve. Integrated's earnings fell to 52 cents a share in fiscal 2000 from $1.39 a share in fiscal 1999. This fiscal year, though, they're expected to grow 80 percent -- to about 92 cents a share. That puts its earnings growth in the same ballpark as sales increases, which were 70 percent in fiscal 2000.
Still, the market says Integrated's stock is worth less than $10 a pop. It closed Thursday at $5.88, with a 52-week range of $4.25 to $10.50.
And don't expect great news when it comes to the early 2001 results of companies like Cupertino and Integrated. The infrastructure industry often sees lower sales in the early months of the year. |
