Bloomberg news. Looks like an overreaction to me.
SteriGenics Stock Falls on 4th-Qtr Profit Warning (Update1) (Adds closing stock activity in first two paragraphs.)
Fremont, California, March 9 (Bloomberg) -- SteriGenics International Inc., which uses irradiation to sterilize food and health-care products, fell 38 percent after it warned that fiscal fourth-quarter results won't meet estimates because of slower business at its medical sterilization division.
SteriGenics fell 6 3/8 to 10 1/4 in trading of 3.73 million shares, more than 90 times the three-month daily average.
The Fremont, California-based company said it will report net income of $1.8 million to $2.2 million, or 22 cents to 25 cents a share, for the three months ended March 31. That's less than the 28-cent average estimate of three analysts surveyed by First Call Corp. It earned $1.64 million, or 21 cents a share, a year earlier.
The slowdown was partly attributable to a delay in seasonal increases in business at the medical sterilization division, which accounts for about 75 percent of the company's revenue, said Thomas J. Balutis, chief financial officer.
Balutis said the company didn't know why orders were delayed in the fourth quarter, which is usually its strongest quarter. Orders didn't pick up until mid-February, the company said.
SteriGenics also said it expects to report revenue of $13.3 to $13.9 million for the fourth quarter. The company reported revenue of $13.1 million a year earlier.
It said it expects net income for fiscal 1999 of $7.6 million to $7.9 million, or 91 cents to 94 cents a share. That's less than the 97-cent average estimate of analysts surveyed by First Call. Revenue for the full fiscal year will be about $54.1 million to $54.7 million, SteriGenics said. For fiscal 1998 the company reported net income of $5.31 million, or 79 cents a share, on revenue of $47 million. |
