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Valspar’s Q1 Finishes Flat
The gloss came off the paint sector, and the coatings business fared only slightly better, producing a weak 2013 first quarter for the Valspar Corp., the company reported Tuesday (Feb. 12).
Net sales and net income per share both declined, while gross profit was essentially flat for the quarter ended Jan. 25, prompting the world's sixth-largest paint and coatings company to reduce its full-year earnings guidance for 2013, Valspar reported.
"Although we made substantial progress this quarter on a number of key initiatives, international markets were weaker than anticipated," Gary E. Hendrickson, chairman and chief executive officer of Minneapolis-based Valspar, said in a statement.
The report followed a disappointing fourth quarter, but profitable year, for Valspar.
Sales, Net Income Dip
Overall first-quarter sales totaled $875.2 million, compared to $885.6 million in the first quarter of 2012, according to Valspar's first-quarter balance sheet. First-quarter net income per share was $0.60 in 2013, dipping from adjusted net income per share of $0.62 in 2012, which excluded a $0.04 per share restructuring charge.
Net income for the first quarter of 2013 was $55.0 million, declining from $55.8 million from the prior-year period. Reported earnings per share for Q1 of 2012 were $0.58.
Hendrickson cited "weak demand in certain international markets" for the quarter's thready pulse—a situation that is "expected to continue," he added.
"[T]hus, we are adjusting our full-year guidance to $3.60 to $3.80 to reflect these market conditions," he said.
Sales Segment Data
Valspar's portfolio includes:
The paint business was hit hardest in the first quarter, with sales declining from $339.5 million in the same period of 2012 to $329.0 million in 2013, according to key data released by Valspar.
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Sales and earnings from high-performance coatings advanced, but there were no home runs for the company, which was forced to adjust its full-year guidance. |
Coatings sales improved slightly, from $494.6 million in Q1 of 2012 to $497.6 million in the same period of 2013.
Sales in the "Other" category declined to $48.5 million in the first quarter of 2013 from $51.4 million in the year-ago period.
Both reported and adjusted gross profit as a percentage of net sales were 33.6 percent. In the first quarter of 2012, the reported percentage was 33.1, while the adjusted figure was 33.5 percent.
Earnings Pinched
Adjusted Earnings Before Taxes and Interest (EBIT) followed the sales trends, with the coatings segment inching from $74.2 million in Q1 of 2012 to $74.3 million in 2013.
On the paint side, adjusted EBIT declined from $27.3 million in the first quarter of 2012 to $22.5 million this year.
Valspar's stock declined 7.14 percent Tuesday morning, following the release of the report.
