A. Schulman Q3 Adj. Profit Beats Estimate; Lifts FY14 Adj. EPS Outlook

(RTTNews) - A. Schulman, Inc. (SHLM) Tuesday reported third-quarter net income attributable to the company of $19.1 million or $0.65 per share, compared to $5.2 million or $0.18 per share in the comparable quarter last year.

Adjusted net income for the quarter was $21.8 million or $0.74 per share, up from $14.8 million or $0.50 per share in the prior year quarter. On average, four analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to earn $0.66 per share. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Sales for the latest third quarter increased to $645.74 million from $548.59 million in the year-ago period.

Looking ahead to the fourth quarter, the company expects adjusted net earnings in the range of $0.61 to $0.66 per share. Analysts currently expect fourth quarter earnings of $0.67 per share.

For fiscal 2014, the company has raised its adjusted earnings guidance to a range of $2.31 to $2.36 per share from its previous guidance range of $2.23 to $2.28 per share. Analysts currently expect full-year earnings of $2.27 per share.

Separately, A. Schulman announced that it has completed its acquisition of a selected majority of the assets of the Specialty Plastics business segment from Ferro Corporation (FOE) for $91 million in cash.

The company said the agreement to acquire the assets was first announced on June 4, 2014 and the acquisition includes four facilities located in the United States as well as operations in Spain.

The acquisition is expected to be accretive to adjusted earnings per share. A. Schulman anticipates achieving approximately $5.5 million in synergies within 12 to 18 months following the close of the transaction, driven primarily by sourcing activities and plant efficiency actions.