Woodward misses analyst expectations as pandemic pressures continue

FORT COLLINS — Aerospace parts maker Woodward Inc. (Nasdaq: WWD) missed analyst expectations in its latest earnings report as the pandemic continues to roil its target industries.

The Fort Collins-based Woodward posted revenues of $537.62 million in the period, missing the mark of Wall Street consensus estimates of $542.22 million, according to data compiled by finance site Seeking Alpha. Its earnings-per-share of 64 cents missed the consensus estimate by 5 cents.

While missing expectations, the company did post profits of $41.57 million in the period.

The aerospace segment, which is the largest portion of the company’s business, had $322 million in sales, or almost a third less than what that segment generated in sales in the same quarter a year ago.

Woodward’s industrial segment also suffered despite generating $216 million in sales in the period, down $30 million year-over-year. The company blamed that decline on the lost revenue from the sale of its European renewables arm last year and weak prices in the oil and gas market.

In a statement, CEO Tom Gendron said while airline passenger volume has stabilized in the past few months, it still remains far lower than pre-pandemic times, and the other target markets it operates in remain volatile.

“We still see a significant amount of uncertainty and volatility in our markets,” he said.

The earnings period was for the final three months of 2020, a year where pandemic-generated travel restrictions brought headwinds to Woodward and the rest of the aerospace industry. The company scuttled plans to merge with Hexcel Corp. (NYSE: HXL) into a $6 billion company and later laid off up to 15% of its U.S. staff.

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