Fibreglass insulation maker Owens Corning beat Wall Street estimates recently, reporting that third-quarter earnings climbed 13% on an ongoing basis, boosted by strength in its building materials busi…
Fibreglass insulation maker Owens Corning beat Wall Street estimates recently, reporting that third-quarter earnings climbed 13% on an ongoing basis, boosted by strength in its building materials business. The Toledo, Ohio-based company said third-quarter earnings totalled US$ 89 million, or US$ 1.53 per diluted share, up from US$ 79 million or US$ 1.37 per share on an ongoing basis a year earlier. Sales for the quarter rose slightly to US$ 1.33 billion from US$ 1.32 billion in 1998, but were up 6% over last year when adjusted for divestitures. Analysts had pegged Owens Corning“s third-quarter earnings at US$ 1.52 a share, according to First Call/Thomson Financial, which tracks estimates. Owens Corning“s third-quarter net income slipped 7% from last year“s US$ 96 million, or US$ 1.66 per diluted share, after including extraordinary items and a gain from the transfer of the yarn business into an unconsolidated joint venture. Building materials“ income from operations rose 36% to US$ 145 million, a third quarter record, from US$ 107 million last year. Sales from the building materials division rose 4% to US$ 1.11 billion from US$ 1.06 billion. Composite materials sales and income also rose in the third quarter, as volume and productivity improved and manufacturing costs dipped from second-quarter levels, Owens Corning said. “We are pleased with the performance of our company during the third quarter, particularly our building materials business,” said Glen Hiner, Owens Corning Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “We also made progress during the quarter to improve our balance sheet and our cash flow. Debt was reduced and we are on target to meet our goal of no more than US$ 2 billion of debt at year-end.”