Osram Licht AG (OSRD)

[Enterprising Investor]

Osram Gains After Raising Forecasts on Cost-Savings Push (7/31/13)

By Weixin Zha - Jul 31, 2013 8:50 AM CT Facebook Share Tweet

Osram Licht AG (OSR) climbed to the highest price since it was spun off from Siemens AG (SIE) three weeks ago after the lighting manufacturer raised profit forecasts because cost-savings targets are being met early.

Osram rose as much as 8.9 percent to 29.80 euros in the steepest intraday gain since the stock’s second trading day on July 9. The shares were up 5.7 percent at 3:44 p.m. in Frankfurt, valuing Osram at 3.03 billion euros ($4 billion).

Earnings before interest, taxes, amortization and one-time effects will rise 20 percent to 30 percent in the year through September, Munich-based Osram said today in a statement. That compares with an earlier forecast of a “low double-digit” percentage increase. The company expects to report positive net income, versus a previous prediction of a “significantly smaller” loss than in fiscal 2012.

“The market may react positively on the back of raised guidance and good performance on the restructuring/costs savings front,” Lucie Carrier, Ben Uglow and Robert Davies, London-based analysts at Morgan Stanley, said in a note today. The analysts give the company an equal-weight recommendation, with a share-price estimate of 28.50 euros.

Adjusted Ebita in the fiscal third quarter ended June 30 rose 27 percent from a year earlier to 95 million euros, Osram said today. The company is “ahead of schedule” on reducing spending, Chief Executive Officer Wolfgang Dehen said in the statement. Osram plans to shut or sell six plants in a drive to reach 1 billion euros in savings by 2015.

Siemens, Europe’s biggest engineering company, separated from Osram as part of an effort to sell businesses with low profitability or growth prospects. Osram’s detailed third-quarter earnings report will be published on Aug. 14.

To contact the reporter on this story: Weixin Zha in Frankfurt at [e-mail]

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Angela Cullen at [e-mail]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-07-31/osram-gains-after-raising-forecasts-on-cost-savings-push.html