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LONDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / January 11, 2017 / Active Wall St. announces its post-earnings coverage on Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE: AYI). The Company reported its first quarter fiscal 2017 financial results on January 09, 2017. The lightning and fixtures Company reported double-digit volume growth for the 15th consecutive quarter; however its sales and earnings number came in below market expectations. Register with us now for your free membership at: http://www.activewallst.com/register/.

One of Acuity Brands' competitors within the Diversified Electronics space, Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW), is expected to report its fiscal Quarter ending December 2016 earnings results on January 24, 2017 before market open. AWS will be initiating a research report on Corning following the release of the Company's earnings results.

Today, AWS is promoting its earnings coverage on AYI; touching on GLW. Get our free coverage by signing up to:

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http://www.activewallst.com/registration-3/?symbol=GLW

Earnings Reviewed

For the three months ended November 30, 2016, Acuity's net sales of $851.2 million increased $114.6 million, or 16%, compared to net sales of $736.6 million in the year-ago same period. The y-o-y growth in net sales was attributed to a 10% increase in volume and approximately 9% gain from acquired revenues from acquisitions, which were partially offset by approximately 2% net unfavorable change in product prices and mix of products sold ("price/mix") and approximately 1% unfavorable impact from changes in foreign currency exchange rates. Acuity's net sales numbers were sharply below analysts' expectations of $887.10 million.

During Q1 FY17, Acuity's net income surged 19% to $81.7 million compared to net income of $68.4 million for the prior year's comparable period. The Company's diluted EPS for the reported quarter increased approximately 19% to $1.86 compared to $1.57 for the year-ago same period. Acuity' adjusted diluted EPS for Q1 FY17 increased 13% to $2.00 compared to adjusted diluted EPS of $1.77 for the year ago corresponding period. The Company's earnings numbers also came in below market estimates of $2.06 per share.

Operating Metrics

During Q1 FY17, Acuity's adjusted operating profit increased $17.3 million, or 14%, to $143.2 million, or 16.8% of net sales, compared to adjusted operating profit of $125.9 million, or 17.1% of net sales, in Q1 FY16. During the reported quarter, the Company's adjusted gross profit margin of 42.45 declined 100 basis points compared to the prior year. The decline was primarily due to weaker than expected net sales volume. Excluding the impact of the acquisitions, Acuity's variable contribution margin as a percentage of net sales was approximately 20%, which was below its current annual target of a mid-to-upper 20% range primarily due to the impact of less than anticipated net sales and the continued investment in additional headcount to support the Company's Tier 3 and 4 solutions.

Balance Sheet

During Q1 FY17, Acuity reported that net cash provided by operating activities totaled $38.7 million compared to $51.1 million for the year-ago same period. As of November 30, 2016, the Company's cash and cash equivalents totaled $451.2 million, an increase of $38.0 million since the beginning of the fiscal year. Acuity's total debt outstanding was $356 million at November 30, 2016 and the Company had more cash than debt at November 30, 2016. Acuity also had additional borrowing capacity of $243.9 million under its credit facility, which does not expire until August 2019.

The Company's operating working capital, defined as receivables plus inventory less payables, at November 30, 2016, increased to 45 days compared with 32 days in the prior year. This increase was due primarily to more stocking of faster-moving items to improve delivery service and greater receivables due to timing of shipments. In Q1 FY17, the Company spent $19.5 million on capital expenditures compared to $23.1 million in the prior year.

Dividend

On January 06, 2017, Acuity's Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.13 per share. The dividend is payable on February 01, 2017 to shareholders of record on January 23, 2017.

Outlook

Acuity stated that that lower demand will likely continue in Q2 FY17. The Company noted that order activity in December 2016 reflected growth at a slower pace than what was witnessed over the past several quarters. Additionally, the second fiscal quarter typically marks the weakest quarter due to normal seasonality and the potential for year-end inventory rebalancing by certain customers.

Acuity is forecasting growth rate for the North American lighting market in the mid-to-upper single digit range for FY17. Overall, the Company reiterated its FY17 outlook and expects demand in its end-markets to rise substantially over the next several years.

Stock Performance

At the close of trading session on January 10, 2017, Acuity Brands' stock price rose 3.18% to end the day at $208.94. A total volume of 1.70 million shares were exchanged during the session, which was above the 3-month average volume of 566.39 thousand shares. The Company's share price has gained 1.48% in the past twelve months. The stock currently has a market cap of $9.26 billion. The Company's shares are trading at a PE ratio of 31.52 and have a dividend yield of 0.25%.

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SOURCE: Active Wall Street