Zebra Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ: ZBRA) stock rose 1.86% on December 27th, 2018 and continued its bullish momentum on over 1% (As of 9:36 am GMT-5; Source: Google finance). Wellington Shields upgraded the company’s stock from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report.
Meanwhile, the company has reported consolidated adjusted net sales of $1,092 million in the third quarter of 2018 compared to $936 million in the prior year period, an increase of 16.7%. Consolidated organic net sales growth for the third quarter was 15.1% reflecting growth in all regions, led by APAC, North America and EMEA. Third-quarter year-over-year organic net sales growth was 18.8% in the EVM segment and 8.1% in the AIT segment.
Consolidated adjusted gross margin increased to 46.4% for the third quarter of 2018, compared to 46.0% in the prior year period. This increase was primarily due to favorable business mix and the favorable impact of currency changes. Adjusted operating expenses increased in the third quarter of 2018 to $297 million from $270 million in the prior year period primarily due to growth in the business and increased incentive compensation expense related to improved operating results.
Adjusted EBITDA for the third quarter of 2018 increased to $230 million, or 21.1% of adjusted net sales, compared to $180 million, or 19.2% of adjusted net sales, for the third quarter of 2017 primarily due to operating expense leverage on higher sales and higher gross profit margin.
Overall, Non-GAAP net income for the third quarter of 2018 was $156 million compared with $101 million, for the third quarter of 2017. A lower tax rate and lower interest costs also contributed to the year-over-year improvement. As of September 29, 2018, the company had cash and cash equivalents of $45 million and total debt of $1,912 million.
The company expects fourth-quarter 2018 net sales to increase approximately 7% to 10% from the fourth quarter of 2017. This expectation includes an approximately 2 percentage point positive impact from the acquisition of Xplore Technologies, which closed in the third quarter of 2018, and a neutral impact from foreign currency translation.
Adjusted EBITDA margin is expected to be approximately 20% for the fourth quarter 2018, favorable to the prior year period. Non-GAAP earnings per diluted share are expected to be in the range of $2.80 to $3.00. This assumes an adjusted effective tax rate of approximately 16%.
Additionally, for the full year 2018, the company expects free cash flow of at least $575 million.