Harman International tops 2Q expectations on home and car audio gains, shares soar

Published May 03, 2016

Harman International Industries Inc. shares soared Thursday after the electronics and audio equipment maker reported better-than-expected quarterly results and raised its profit forecast for the year.

The company earned $116.2 million, or $1.65 per share in its fiscal second quarter. That's up from $71.6 million, or $1.03 per share, the year before. It earned $1.79 per share on an adjusted basis, up from $1.09 per share.

Stamford, Connecticut-based company said stronger demand for its home, auto and professional products and services helped drive its quarterly revenue up 19 percent to $1.58 billion.

The quarter's results topped market expectations. Analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research were anticipating earnings of $1.29 per share on revenue of $1.49 billion.

Harman has benefited from an industry trend toward cars that provide users with Internet-connected audio and entertainment options. The company said it expects demand will remain strong and it raised its earnings forecast to $5.85 per share for the fiscal year through June, up from its prior forecast of $5.25 per share. It kept its revenue forecast steady at $6 billion.

Analysts polled by FactSet anticipated earnings of $5.23 per share for the year on revenue of $5.94 billion.

Harman shares rose 19 percent to $120.35 in early afternoon trading and was one of the top gainers in the Standard & Poor's 500 index Thursday. The shares had climbed 14 percent in the last 12 months.

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Elements of this story were generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on HAR at http://www.zacks.com/ap/HAR

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Keywords: Harman International, Earnings Report

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