Precision Castparts Posts Downbeat Q4 Earnings, But Revenue Tops Views

reported weaker-than-expected earnings for the fiscal fourth quarter, but the company's sales exceeded analysts' estimates. The Portland, Oregon-based company posted quarterly earnings of $135 million, or $0.96 per share, compared to $484 million, or $3.31 per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding items, the company earned $2.94 per share. Its revenue slipped 0.6 percent year-over-year to $2.5 billion. However, analysts were expecting a profit of $2.97 per share on revenue of $2.47 billion. Sales for investment cast products gained 3 percent year-over-year in the quarter, while forged products sales slipped 4 percent. Sales of airframe products rose 1 percent in the quarter. "We faced sizable challenges in our oil and gas and pipe markets in the fourth quarter, which clearly had a negative impact on our financial results," said Mark Donegan, chairman and chief executive officer of Precision Castparts Corp. "In response, we have taken decisive measures to adjust our operations to the realities of the demand environment as we see it today, by right sizing our operations, evaluating our inventory positions, and exiting underperforming investments. We believe we have taken the right steps to set the stage for improved results going forward." For the full year, Precision Castparts projects earnings from continuing operations of $12.50 to $13.40 per share, on revenue of $10 billion to $10.4 billion. Precision Castparts shares fell 0.62 percent to close at $207.93 yesterday.