Owens Corning posted a net loss in the 3Q 2008 as it booked a USD 899 million accounting charge, despite several of the building-products maker“s units turning in strong sales growth.
The company po…
Owens Corning posted a net loss in the 3Q 2008 as it booked a USD 899 million accounting charge, despite several of the building-products maker“s units turning in strong sales growth. The company posted a net loss of USD 810 million, compared with a net gain of USD 112 million a year ago. Excluding items, earnings from continuing operations rose to USD 0.72 from USD 0.42 a share. Revenue grew 28% to USD 1.63 billion, with strong sales in the roofing and asphalt and composite businesses. Gross margin fell to 15.7% from 16.8%. Earnings more than doubled and sales rose 48% at the composite solutions business, the company“s largest segment and the one with fewer ties to the US housing market and more links to international markets. The insulating systems business, which is driven by new construction volumes, saw earnings break even and posted an 11% fall in sales, while earnings for roofing and asphalt, which benefits to a greater degree from the repair/remodeling market, improved more than six-fold and revenue jumped 63%. Looking ahead, Owens Corning reaffirmed its full-year earnings before interest and taxes, of at least USD 265 million. The company expects the US housing market to continue to affect demand for insulation products into 2009. Owens Corning said strong composites business in the 4Q and improved productivity is expected to offset a weaker global market in the quarter.