WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Newell Rubbermaid Inc. (NWL) reported that its first-quarter net income was $54.2 million, or $0.19 per share, down from $79.3 million, or $0.27 per share, in the prior year. The decrease in earnings per share was largely due to increased restructuring costs, a loss from discontinued operations, and a loss relating to the currency devaluation in Venezuela.
Normalized net income was $102.1 million, compared with prior year normalized results of $95.7 million. Normalized diluted earnings per share of $0.35 increased 9.4 percent versus the prior year's $0.32, attributable to improved operating performance, lower interest expense and a more favorable tax rate, partially offset by a comparison with first quarter 2012 results that included a benefit of approximately $0.03 related to the European SAP-related timing shift.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.32 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
Net sales in the first quarter were $1.24 billion, a decline of 0.8 percent compared with the prior year. Core sales, which exclude 100 basis points of adverse foreign currency translation, grew 0.2 percent, or 2.5 percent if adjusted for the 2012 timing shift of approximately $28 million from the second quarter to the first quarter related to the company's European SAP conversion. Ten analysts had consensus revenue estimate of $1.32 billion for the quarter.
For the full year 2013, the company still expects earnings per share between $1.54 and $1.60, as well as normalized earnings per share between $1.78 and $1.84. The company's 2013 guidance is core sales growth in a range from 2 to 4 percent. Analysts expect the company to report earnings of $1.82 per share on revenues of $6.05 billion for fiscal 2013.
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