Worthington Profit Tops Estimates, Sales Misses

(RTTNews) - Worthington Industries Inc (WOR), a diversified metals manufacturing company, on Wednesday reported first-quarter net earnings of $31.4 million or $0.48 per share compared with $44.2 million or $0.63 per share last year.

Excluding items, adjusted earnings for the quarter were $0.54 per share compared with $0.65 per share a year ago.

Revenues for the quarter were down 12% at $758.1 million compared with $862.4 million in the prior year.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters estimated earnings of $0.51 per share on revenues of $845 million for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

The results were despite some challenging end markets in the quarter, said CEO John McConnell.

Gross margin for the quarter declined $16.5 million from the prior year on lower volume and the unfavorable impact of inventory holding losses in Steel Processing in the current quarter due to the decline in steel prices.

Also, operating income was negatively impacted by higher impairment and restructuring charges.

Looking ahead, CEO McConnell said, "In the face of challenging markets, we are pleased with the company's performance and we are optimistic about our momentum going into the next quarter. However, we are mindful of the uncertainty of the macro economic issues and we remain focused on the things we can control."