Uniforms and restroom supplies company Cintas Corp. CTAS reported Tuesday fiscal first-quarter profit that topped expectations and nudged up its full-year outlook, while revenue rose in line with forecasts. Shares of Cintas, which was valued at $51.8 billion as of Monday’s close, were little changed ahead of the open. Net income for the quarter to Aug. 31 rose to $85.1 million, or $3.70 a share, from $351.7 million, or $3.39 a share, in the year-ago period. That beat the FactSet consensus for earnings per share of $3.67. Revenue grew 8.1% to $2.342 billion, compared with the FactSet consensus of $2.336 billion. Gross margin as a percentage of revenue improved to 48.7% from 47.5%, as energy expenses declined by about 0.50 percentage points. For the full fiscal year, the company lifted its guidance ranges for EPS to $14.00 to $14.45 from $13.85 to $14.35 and for revenue to $9.40 billion to $9.52 billion from $9.35 billion to $9.50 billion. Cintas shares have gained 11.9% year to date while the S&P 500 SPX has advanced 13.0%.
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