News flash!
(COMTEX) B: WRAP: International Paper beats Q1 estimates as earnings
B: WRAP: International Paper beats Q1 estimates as earnings surge (Update1)
(Update1)
(adds closing share price)
By Bridge News Purchase, N.Y.--Apr 11--International Paper Co., the world's
largest paper company, said first-quarter earnings soared from year-ago levels
and beat Wall Street expectations, helped by its merger with Union Camp Corp.
and profit-improvement programs. The Purchase, N.Y.-based company said operating
profits, before special and extraordinary items, surged 678% to $249 million, or
60 cents per diluted share, before certain items, from $32 million, or 8 cents,
in the year-earlier quarter. The result beat the consensus estimate of analysts
polled by First Call Corp. by 2 cents. Extraordinary items in the quarter
included a gain of $134 million, or 32 cents per share, resulting from
investments in Scitex and COPEC, and integration costs of $5 million, or 1 cent
per share, related to the merger in April last year with Union Camp. Revenues
rose almost 7 percent to $6.4 billion from $6 billion in the year-earlier
quarter. Shares of International Paper, a component of the Dow Jones industrial
average, rose 56.25, or 1.32%, to $43.1875 on the New York Stock Exchange. The
company said its industrial packaging division's first-quarter performance
continued the positive trend established during the last half of 1999,
reflecting continued realization of synergies from the merger in April in last
year with Union Camp, as well as ongoing profit improvement plans. Earnings in
consumer packaging were 32 percent better than in the same period last year,
owing to better bleached-board pricing and an improved performance from beverage
packaging. In the chemicals and petroleum segment, earnings for Arizona Chemical
were 75 percent better than last year, while petroleum and minerals' earnings
were higher owing in part to higher prices for oil and gas. IP said it will
continue to build stronger core businesses and divest or close operations and
businesses which do not perform to expectations. During the quarter, the company
acquired Shorewood Packaging to expand its product offerings in the fast-growth,
premium packaging market, and announced the closure of packaging converting
operations in Pennsylvania, Indiana and Illinois and Canadian operations in
Alberta. International Paper chief executive John Dillon said he expects the
second quarter to be "significantly better" due to the strength of its markets
and benefits from its integration of Union Camp, with which it merged in April
last year. End
:8-)
That was wonderful news and the stock shot up 56 cents too.
I wonder why there is an inverted hammer on the chart today?
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