PPG Sees Q1 EPS of $1.75-1.80 vs $1.44 Est

PPG Industries PPG today announced that it will report nonrecurring charges in the first quarter 2012 related to business restructuring, environmental remediation and acquisition-related expenses. As a result, the company expects first quarter 2012 earnings per diluted share in the range of 2 to 7 cents. Adjusted earnings per diluted share for the quarter, excluding the nonrecurring charges, are expected to be between $1.75 and $1.80. This compares with reported earnings per diluted share of $1.40 in the first quarter 2011. There were no nonrecurring charges in the first quarter 2011. For the first quarter, PPG will report an after-tax charge of approximately $164 million, or $1.06 per diluted share, related to business restructuring actions, the majority of which will occur in Europe. The pretax restructuring charge of $208 million includes cash costs of approximately $160 million and about $48 million related to the net write-off of certain assets and other non-cash items. Of the approximate $160 million of cash costs about 80 percent will be spent in 2012, with the remainder to be spent in 2013. When completed, PPG expects that these restructuring actions should result in annualized, pretax savings of about $140 million, with 2012 partial-year savings of between $40 million and $50 million.