What happened
Shares of electronic-component company CTS Corporation(NYSE: CTS) fell sharply on Tuesday. The stock declined as much as 13.2% but was down 10.2% as of 11:10 a.m. ET.
Shares fell as the company, which makes and sells sensors and actuators for vehicles and connectivity components for telecommunications systems and information technology, reported fourth-quarter results that came in below analysts' average forecast. Revenue and adjusted earnings per share for the period were both below expectations.
So what
CTS' fourth-quarter sales rose 7% year over year to $142.3 million. Adjusted earnings per share increased from $0.49 in the year-ago period to $0.56. Analysts, on average, were expecting fourth-quarter revenue and adjusted earnings per share of about $148.2 million and $0.58, respectively.
"During the year, we advanced our diversification strategy through the completion of two acquisitions, while also gaining momentum with electric platform wins as we continue developing new products for hybrid and electric vehicles," said CTS CEO Kieran O'Sullivan in the company's fourth-quarter earnings release.
Worth noting, the company's sales to non-transportation end markets increased 22% year over year in Q4. A tough auto market, however, led to a 4% year-over-year decrease in sales in its transportation market.
Now what
CTS expects revenue to be between $580 million and $640 million. The midpoint of this guidance -- $610 million -- would represent growth of 4% over the company's 2022 sales of $586.9 million. This would be a significant deceleration from the company's full-year 2022 sales-growth rate of 14%.
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