The revenue number was a stout 27-percent improvement over the same quarter in 2011, and the EPS was 58 cents per share higher than a year earlier. The company repurchased about 300,000 shares of stock for about $22 million during the quarter, and upped its full-year guidance from $4.80 EPS and a 15-percent revenue increase to $5.10-$5.15 and a 20-percent jump in revenue over 2011.
CEO Albert J. Neupaver said in a press release, “We had another strong quarter and are positioned to perform well in the second half of the year. The company continues to benefit from rigorous application of the Wabtec Performance System, its diverse business model and ongoing investments in strategic growth initiatives. Recently, we completed two acquisitions in support of our growth strategies: Mors Smitt, which expanded our geographic footprint; and Tec Tran, which added hydraulic braking technology.”
Robert Joseph Caruso’s Select Equity Group and Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates, though selling some of their positions in WAB stock during the first quarter of 2012, are two hedge funds with positions to grow upon Wabtec’s news. Select Equity had nearly $204 million invested in WAB stock at the end of March, while Royce had a $135 million play. On the other side of the coin, however, Malcolm Fairbairn’s Ascend Capital made an initial $12.4 million investment by the end of March, and D E Shaw increased its share of stock by more than 200 percent to nearly $10 million.