WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Owens-Illinois Inc. (OI) announced that first quarter 2012 results, based on preliminary indications, should exceed prior year first quarter 2011 earnings from continuing operations of $0.50 per share by more than 35 percent. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect the company to report earnings of $0.50 per share for the first-quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
The company said that the higher first quarter 2012 results were primarily driven by good manufacturing performance as the Company's facilities operated at greater than planned production rates.
The company said that it increased its levels of finished goods inventory during the first quarter to support the upcoming seasonal sales volume trends, especially in North America and Europe, and to avoid the supply chain inefficiencies experienced last year during the second quarter.
Owens-Illinois noted that the results also partially benefited from 2012 pricing actions to offset unrecovered prior year inflation and anticipated 2012 inflation. Cost reduction activities initiated in the second half of 2011, as well as lower than expected costs in the first quarter of 2012 for the successful SAP deployment in North America, also benefited results.
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