yikes AJ APW earnings came out! late yesterday a day ahead of time and they were awful --very awful i can't see this holding--but will watch closely--but once these earnings are digested what can hold it if you see this before bell give your opinion of these earnings.
Wednesday March 21, 12:23 am Eastern Time
APW Ltd. books second quarter loss vs yr-ago profit
(UPDATE: Adds details, stock activity, CEO quote para 7, changes dateline pvs WAUKESHA, Wis.)
By Greg Cresci
NEW YORK, March 20 (Reuters) - Electronics manufacturing services provider APW Ltd. (NYSE:APW - news) on Tuesday posted a second quarter loss compared with a year ago profit, as higher costs and reduced customer demand overpowered a 15 percent rise in net sales.
The Waukesha, Wis.-based company, which said it plans to cut 450 jobs in addition to an eight percent workforce reduction since Nov 30, warned that fiscal 2001 and fiscal 2002 earnings are likely to come in sharply below current analysts' expectations.
The company's shares fell 17 percent, or $3.57, to finish at a 52-week low of $17.38 on the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday. The stock has a 52-week high of $49.88.
APW reported a net loss of $5.9 million, or a loss of 15 cents a share, for the second quarter. That compared with a profit of $8.8 million, or earnings of 22 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Cash earnings came in at breakeven, down from 35 cents a share last year, APW said.
Analysts were on average expecting the company to earn 27 cents per share, according to market research firm First Call/Thomson Financial.
Net sales for the quarter jumped to $317.6 million from $277.1 million.(this was helped by acquisition counting--max)
``Our performance for the second quarter 2001 is unacceptable,'' Richard Sim, APW's chairman and chief executive, said in a statement. ``We have undertaken an aggressive review of our business structure, our facility utilization and our labor productivity. We are completing the review of our total cost structure to more effectively align our capabilities with today's market realities.''
Looking ahead, APW said it expects sales in the second half of fiscal 2001 to be in the range of $700 to $800 million, with gross profit at $145 to $165 million. Cash earnings for the period are expected to be 20 to 45 cents a share, APW said.
Analysts are currently forecasting earnings of $1.86 a share for fiscal 2001, according to First Call.
For fiscal 2002, APW said it expects sales of $1.87 billion to $1.97 billion, with gross profit of $400 to $440 million. <b,Cash earnings for 2002 are expected to come in at $1.90 to $2.50 a share, the company said. not a very believable a number --based on what?max |
