Avery Dennison Profit Falls 9%; Slowdown Cited
Adhesive product and label maker Avery Dennison Corp. on Tuesday said its first-quarter earnings fell more than 9% from a year ago as the slower North American economy and weakness in some European specialty markets hurt short-term growth.
The Pasadena-based company said its net income fell to $63.6 million, or 65 cents a share, from $70.2 million, or 70 cents, a year ago. Sales slipped slightly to $963.2 million from $965.3 million last year.
Analyst estimates had ranged from 65 cents to 68 cents, with an average estimate of 67 cents, said First Call/Thomson Financial.
The company, whose products include battery labels, retail tags and peel-and-stick postage stamps, said it expected to earn 68 cents to 72 cents per share for the second quarter.
Avery Dennison said it is trimming earlier projections for this year’s earnings per share by 5 cents to a range of $2.85 to $3.00, primarily because of currency exchange rates.
Analysts on average expect Avery to earn 72 cents per share in the second quarter and $2.93 per share for the year, according to First Call.
The company’s shares rose 10 cents to close at $55.25 on the New York Stock Exchange.
At a Glance
Other Southern California company earnings, excluding one-time gains and charges unless noted:
* Allergan Inc., a drug maker for eye and skin care, said first-quarter net income rose 20% on demand for its glaucoma drug Alphagan and expanded sales of the neuromuscular drug Botox. The Irvine-based firm said net income rose to $52.1 million, or 39 cents a share, from $43.5 million, or 33 cents, a year earlier. Sales rose 5.3% to $396.1 million.
* Los Angeles-based restaurant operator California Pizza Kitchen reported first-quarter net income for the period ended April 1 of $3.3 million, or 18 cents a share, compared with a loss of $662,000, or 6 cents, a year ago. Revenue rose 18% to $57 million. Same-store sales rose 6.3%. The company went public in August.
* Imperial Credit Industries of Torrance reported a first-quarter loss from continuing operations of $106,000, or 0 cents per share, compared with a loss $16.8 million, or 51 cents, a year ago. Net interest income fell 30% to $14.6 million.
* Video game publisher THQ Inc. said first-quarter earnings and revenue fell sharply as expected, citing slow sales amid a cyclical lull as more powerful game platforms are introduced. The Calabasas-based company said its net income fell to $860,000, or 4 cents a share, from $3.95 million, or 18 cents, a year earlier. That was slightly higher than Wall Street analysts’ net profit forecast of 3 cents a share. THQ said its revenue was $59.33 million, down from $70.39 million.
