Shares of Crane Co. rose nearly 5% in the extended session Monday after the industrial company reported first-quarter earnings and sales that were above Wall Street expectations and raised guidance, on the strength of the quarterly beat and “improving market conditions.” Crane said it earned $108 million, or $1.84 a share, in the quarter, compared with earnings of $63 million, or $1.05 a share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted for one-time items, Crane earned $1.66 in the quarter. Sales rose 5% to $834 million, the company said. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected adjusted profit of $1.30 a share on sales of $774 million. Crane raised its GAAP EPS guidance to between $5.75 and $5.95, from a previous estimate between $4.95 and $5.15. The company called for adjusted EPS between $5.65 and $5.85, from a previous guidance between $5 and $5.20. “We delivered exceptionally strong results in the first quarter,” Chief Executive Max Mitchell said in a statement. “Across all of our businesses and end markets, while uncertainty still exists, we continue to see strengthening underlying trends.” The stock ended the regular trading day down 0.7%.
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