Crane Co. has reported a full year 2018 GAAP earnings per diluted share of $5.50, compared to $2.84 per diluted share in 2017. Excluding Special Items, 2018 EPS increased 32 percent to $5.99. Both GAAP and adjusted EPS include an $0.08 discrete tax benefit.
Full year 2018 sales were $3.35 billion, an increase of 20 percent compared to 2017. The sales increase was comprised of a $471 million, or 17 percent, net benefit from acquisitions, core sales growth of $77 million, or 3 percent, and $12 million of favorable foreign exchange.
Full year 2018 operating profit was a record $441 million, an increase of 14 percent compared to $388 million in 2017. Operating profit margin of 13.2 percent compared to 13.9 percent last year. Excluding Special Items, 2018 operating profit was a record $506 million, an increase of 20 percent compared to $423 million last year. Excluding Special Items, full year 2018 operating profit margin of 15.1 percent compared to 15.2 percent in 2017
Max Mitchell, Crane Co. President and Chief Executive Officer commented: “2018 marks another year of outstanding performance. Full year adjusted EPS of $5.99 was 32 percent above the prior record adjusted EPS of $4.53 in 2017, and free cash flow of $305 million compares to our prior record of $269 million last year despite a discretionary pension contribution and elevated capital expenditures. In addition to the strong operational and financial performance, we also made continued progress on numerous strategic initiatives last year that better position Crane for years of profitable growth ahead. Specifically, we completed the acquisition of Crane Currency and integration activities remain on-track, we continued to execute on repositioning activities to ensure that we have the right cost-effective manufacturing footprint to support future growth, and we are delivering on growth investments and new product development across our businesses.”
Mitchell continued, “We are introducing 2019 adjusted EPS guidance in a range of $6.25-$6.45. The midpoint of this guidance range represents 6 percent growth compared to last year, reflecting the extremely strong financial performance in 2018. Notably, the midpoint of the 2019 guidance reflects 40 percent adjusted EPS growth compared to 2017. We continue to believe that we are on track to deliver on our 2021 EPS target of $7.50-$8.00, with additional potential upside from capital deployment. We also announced today that we are raising our dividend by 11 percent, further reflecting confidence in our outlook.”