Lubrizol moves to profit in 4th quarter

posted: 5 DAYS 17 HOURS AGO

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CLEVELAND -Chemical maker Lubrizol Corp. on Thursday reported it moved to a fourth-quarter profit compared with a year-ago quarter weighed down by hefty restructuring and impairment charges

Earnings for the three-month period were $134.2 million, or $1.92 per share, compared with a loss of $281 million, or $4.16 per share, in the same quarter a year earlier.

Excluding restructuring and other charges, its adjusted earnings in the latest quarter were $1.95 per share. The 2008 quarter included restructuring and impairment charges of $4.86 per share.

Revenue rose to $1.19 billion from $1.09 billion a year earlier.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters, who generally exclude one-time items from their estimates, expected earnings per share of $1.77 on revenue of $1.16 billion.

Full-year profit came to $500.8 million, or $7.26 a share, compared to a loss of $66.1 million, or 97 cents a share, in 2008. Revenue slipped to $4.59 billion from $5.03 billion.

Lubrizol said it expects 2010 earnings per share of $7.63 to $8.23, including restructuring charges of 7 cents a share. Adjusted to exclude those charges, the company predicts income per share of $7.70 to $8.30. Analysts forecast adjusted earnings per share of $7.31 on revenue of $4.74 billion.

Shares of Lubrizol dipped 9 cents to $74.19 in afternoon trading.

2010-02-04 14:14:22