nVent posts solid sales increase for 4Q but misses earnings estimate

NVent Electric PLC posted a solid 5 percent sales increase for the fourth quarter, but missed earnings estimates by a penny.

The company, which split last April from Pentair PLC, posted sales on Thursday of $568 million, with all three of its divisions posting increases. The result was $12 million better than Wall Street analysts predicted.

However, earnings for the company that makes electrical products fell 57 percent to $67 million, or 37 cents a share. Excluding the effect of the 2017 federal tax cuts, spinoff costs and other one-time items, adjusted earnings rose to $80.3 million, or 45 cents a share, but still a penny shy of estimates.

"Our fourth-quarter sales were above the high end of our guidance, marking the fourth consecutive quarter of sales acceleration giving us confidence our strategy is working," said Beth Wozniak, CEO of the company that is based in England but run primarily from St. Louis Park.

Wozniak noted in a statement that since the spinoff, organic sales growth has been 6 percent. This is third set of earnings issued since it became an independent company in April.

Pentair now focuses on making water pumps, filtration and desalination systems. Its former electrical division — now nVent — focuses on making electrical enclosures; heat tracking and management systems for industrial equipment, cables and buildings; and electrical and fastener solutions.

The company has 9,000 global employees. Full-year 2018 sales grew 5.5 percent to $2.2 billion, while 2018 earnings fell 36 percent to $230.8 million — mostly due to the impact of the tax rate reduction law.

The company's stock price gained 3 cents Thursday to close at $25.02.