12 February 1998: Pricing pressures caused the US operation Owens Corning to barely break even in the fourth quarter of 1997. In the last week of January, the company reported a net profit of US$ 2 mi…
12 February 1998: Pricing pressures caused the US operation Owens Corning to barely break even in the fourth quarter of 1997. In the last week of January, the company reported a net profit of US$ 2 million for the period, before special charges, compared with net profits from ongoing operations of US$ 69 million a year earlier. After taking in restructuring charges, Owens made a net loss of US$ 117 million, compared with a profit of US$ 70 million in the same period in 1996. The company, which recently announced sweeping reorganisation designed to reduce costs by about US$ 100 million this year, said that the results had been “significantly influenced by pricing pressures in its building materials and composites businesses”. In earnings per share terms, the fourth quarter results (before extraordinary items) worked out at US$ 0.05, compared with US$ 1.24 previously, and was slightly below analysts“ already-reduced estimates.