H.B. Fuller Profit Misses Estimates; Cuts Guidance Again

(RTTNews) - Adhesives and sealants maker H.B. Fuller Co (FUL) on Wednesday reported third-quarter net earnings of $26.8 million or $0.52 per share compared with $4 million or $0.08 per share last year.

Excluding items, adjusted earnings for the quarter were $0.61 per share compared with $0.42 per share a year ago.

Revenues for the quarter were slightly down at $524.1 million compared with $526.8 million in the prior year.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters estimated earnings of $0.70 per share on revenues of $537.2 million for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

The company noted that while higher volume positively impacted revenue growth by 6.2 percentage points, foreign currency translation negatively impacted growth by 7.2 percentage points.

Gross margin improved to 28% from 23.8% a year ago.

For the full year 2015, the company again cut its guidance to reflect lower revenue expectation in the Americas operating segment and a slightly higher tax rate.

The company now expects adjusted earnings of $2.23 per share on revenues of about $2.08 billion. Earlier it estimated earnings of $2.45 per share on revenues of $2.1 billion.

Analysts expect earnings of $2.41 per share on revenues of $2.12 billion for 2015.

For the fourth quarter, the company expects adjusted earnings of $0.70 per share on revenues of about $540 million. Analysts expect earnings of $0.80 per share on revenues of $567.6 million.