H.B. Fuller Q1 Profit Down - Update

(RTTNews) - Paint and adhesive maker H.B. Fuller Co. (FUL), Wednesday reported a drop in profit for the first quarter, as lower margins offset some mediocre revenue growth. Earnings for the quarter missed analysts' expectations by a penny, as did revenues.

St. Paul, Minnesota-based HB Fuller's first-quarter profit dropped to $14.6 million or $0.28 per share from $20.7 million or $0.41 per share last year.

Adjusted earnings for the quarter were $0.49 per share, flat with last year. On average, seven analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $0.50 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

H.B. Fuller's revenues grew 1.3 percent to $486.0 million from $479.8 million last year. Five analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $491.58 million for the quarter. Organic revenue grew by 2 percent year-over-year.

Higher volume positively impacted revenue growth by 2 percentage points, while foreign currency translation negatively impacted by 0.7 percentage points.

Gross margin, or percentage of revenues left after deducting production costs, dropped to 27.4 percent from 27.8 percent last year.

Moving ahead, the company continues to expects adjusted earnings of $3.00 to $3.15 per share and revenue growth at the low end of its long-term growth targets of 5 to 8 percent for the full year 2014. Analysts currently expect full-year earnings of $3.08 per share and revenue growth of 4.60 percent from last year.

FUL closed Wednesday's trading at $47.14, down $0.37 or 0.78%, on the NYSE. The stock further dropped $1.94 or 4.12% in after-hours trade.