Global printer Quebecor World issues warning on Q3 and Q4 earnings
Related Symbols: T.IQW.SV
10/21/05 8:50:00 AM
MONTREAL (CP) - Quebecor World Inc., one of the world's largest commercial printers, has issued an earnings warning for its third and fourth quarters of this year on high fuel prices and a poor performance at its European operations.
Earnings per share, before impairment of assets, restructuring and other charges, "will be lower than in the same periods last year and below current market expectations," the company (TSX:IQW.SV) said Friday in a statement.
"More specifically, Quebecor World's management team anticipates earnings per share will be in the range of 25 to 30 cents (US) for the third quarter of 2005, before impairment of assets, restructuring and other charges."
Shares in Quebecor World fell $1.65, more than eight per cent, to $18.50 in morning trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Parent company Quebecor Inc. (TSX:QBR.SV.B) stock was off 97 cents at $27.13.
Thomson Financial analysts had on average been forecasting a third-quarter profit of 35 cents per share and fourth-quarter earnings of 57 cents a share.
The firm blamed "challenging market conditions, especially with regard to pricing and rising energy costs, as well as by continued underperformance of the company's operations in France and the United Kingdom."
Company spokesman Tony Ross said he couldn't comment on the underperformance of those operations.
Ross also said he couldn't say if the warning for lower earnings would result in eventual job cuts.
But he did say energy prices are a factor.
"You can see what the price of natural gas is, it has gone up quite a bit, so has the price of electricity and so has price of fuel - oil - as well," Ross said in an interview.
The firm said it will retool its manufacturing platform to improve its competitiveness and reduce costs.
Quebecor World, part of media giant Quebecor Inc.'s stable of companies, is due to release its third-quarter results Nov. 1.
The company has about 34,000 employees working in more than 160 printing and related facilities around the world.
[Harry: If this weakness is confirmed in other publishing
companies, it is a pretty good canary indicator that economy
is retracting in a big way.] |
