WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Amphenol Corp. (APH) Wednesday said its profit for fourth quarter declined, hurt mainly by flood-damage charges and higher sales costs. Nonetheless, the fiber-optic cable maker's earnings and revenues surpassed Street analysts' expectations. Moving ahead, the company issued its outlook for the first quarter and full year 2012, which is expected to beat analysts' current estimates. Investors reacted positively to the announcement, sending Amphenol's stock up about ten percent on the New York Stock Exchange. Connecticut-based Amphenol's attributable net income for the quarter dropped to $113.9 million or $0.69 per share from $131.1 million or $0.74 per share last year. The company recorded a one-time charge of $9 million or $0.03 per share related to cleanup and repair efforts conducted at its Sidney, New York facility which had incurred flood-damage. Amphenol also recorded acquisition related transaction costs charge of $2 million or $0.01 per share. Excluding one-time items, earnings for the fourth quarter were $0.73 per share. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $0.70 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude unusual gains and losses. Amphenol, which competes with CommScope Inc., said net sales for the quarter decreased to $948.7 million from $949.9 million last year. Analysts on a consensus estimated revenues of $932.3 million for the quarter. Currency translation positively impacted sales by about $2 million. The limited manufacturing and sales activity at its Sidney facility reduced sales by about $7 million in the fourth quarter, Amphenol said in a statement. Cost of sales for the quarter increased to $653.9 million from $639.9 million last year. Chief Executive Adam Norwitt said, 'While recent sales levels have been impacted by lower overall customer demand, order levels indicate a more positive demand profile with a 1.04 to 1 book-to-bill ratio in the quarter and orders up 4% from prior year levels.' Looking forward to the first quarter, Amphenol expects earnings in a range of $0.73 to $0.76 per share on revenues of $960 million to $975 million. Analysts currently expect earnings of $0.71 per share on revenues of $938.10 million for the quarter. For the full-year 2012, Amphenol expect earnings in a range $3.23 to $3.34 per share and revenues of $4.05 billion to $4.15 billion. Analysts currently expect earnings of $3.18 per share on revenues of $4.04 billion for the full year. APH is currently trading at $53.08, up $4.81 or 9.97% on a volume of 2.6 million shares, above the three-month average volume of 1.4 million.
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