U.S. indexes were slightly in the green in premarket trading on Thursday as earnings reports for several companies were released.
Electro Scientific Industries Inc. (ESIO, Financial) shares were up in premarket trading as the company reported better-than-expected earnings for its first quarter. EPS of 38 cents beat expectations by 20 cents while revenue of $72.68 million beat estimates by $11.58 million.
CEO Michael Burger said, “We started this fiscal year with another strong quarter, delivering year-over-year growth in orders, revenues, backlog and earnings. Sales grew by more than 50% compared to the same quarter last year. Further, I am pleased with the progress we have made on our restructuring program, which is nearly complete. With healthy market conditions and a solid product portfolio, we expect strong second-quarter revenue and profit growth year over year."
From the cash flow statement, the company generated $7.4 million of cash from operations during the quarter. Other assets increased from the prior quarter, inventories increased by $3.3 million, trade receivables increased by $8.2 million and accounts payable increased by $4.6 million.
Guidance for the next quarter is solid, with revenues for the second quarter of fiscal 2018 in the range of $63 million to $70 million. Non-GAAP earnings per diluted share are expected to be between 25 cents and 30 cents.
Oclaro Inc. (OCLR, Financial) shares rose in premarket trading as the company reported fourth-quarter EPS of 20 cents on revenue of $149.4 million. Sales increased 19.3% year over year, helping the company beat earnings expectations by three cents and revenue estimates by $1.36 million.
Further, shares of Tesla Inc. (TSLA, Financial) rose in premarket trading. The company reported better-than-expected earnings and revenues. EPS of -$1.33 beat expectations by 59 cents while revenue of $2.8 billion beat by $250 million and registered a 120.5% year-over-year increase.
Global markets
Europe is closing principally in the green, with banks falling. However, shares of Italy's biggest lender, UniCredit (MIL:UCG, Financial), rose 4.4% after reporting better-than-expected second-quarter earnings. The FTSE 100, the CAC 40 and the IBEX 35 advanced 0.9%, 0.6% and 0.1%, while the German DAX fell 0.03%.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei, China’s Shanghai Composite Index, Hong Kong's Hang Seng and India’s BSE Sensex closed in negative territory.
Disclosure: The author holds no position in any stocks mentioned.
