Lexmark International Sinks On Q4 Results, Outlook

Lexmark International Inc LXK fell sharply on Tuesday after the company offered a disappointing outlook and said currency headwinds and higher-than-expected taxes caused it to miss fourth-quarter Street views.

Lexmark changed hands recently at $41.08, down 2.6 percent.

A short squeeze might be contributing: Shorts accounted for about 18 percent of the Kansas City, Missouri-based company's shares as of December 31.

For the recent fourth quarter, Lexmark's adjusted income fell 6 percent from a year earlier to $1.11 a share on nearly flat revenue of $1.02 billion.

Analysts expected adjusted earnings of $1.14 a share on revenue of $978.1 million. The company said a shift in the mix of earnings "toward higher-tax geographies" cut profits by $0.10 cents a share, while a stronger dollar reduced earnings by $0.08 cents a share, relative to its October guidance.

For the first quarter ending March 31, Lexmark expects earnings of $0.70 to $0.080 cents a share on a revenue decline between 3 percent and 5 percent from year-earlier revenue of $880.8 million. Wall Street is projecting first-quarter profits of $0.90 cents a share, on revenue of $869.55 million.

Lexmark is exiting its inject printer business and turning to software products to boost slow-growing revenue and narrowing profit margins.

Earlier this month, Lexmark acquired Toronto-based Claron Technology Inc. for $37 million, folding the medical-imaging business into its Lexmark Perceptive Software unit.

Posted In: EarningsNewsGuidanceIntraday Update
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