WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Meadwestvaco Corp (MWV), a packaging and packaging solutions provider, Wednesday said fourth quarter net income attributable to the company surged to $681 million from $17 million in the prior year. Earnings per share soared to $3.79 from $0.10. Some prior-year results have been recast.
Income from continuing operations was $1.18 per share compared to a loss of $0.02 per share last year.
Excluding special items, income from continuing operations attributable to the company was $0.29 per share, while it totaled a loss of $0.05 per share for the fourth quarter of 2012.
On average, 11 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $0.24 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
Net sales improved to $1.316 billion from $1.279 billion in the previous year, amid growth in targeted packaging and specialty chemicals markets. Wall Street expected revenues of $1.32 billion.
John Luke, Jr., CEO, said, 'The revenue and earnings improvement we saw this quarter is the result of solid commercial and operational execution across each of our businesses.'
For the first quarter of 2014, earnings excluding special items are expected to be well above last year.
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