Timken Co. (TKR) swung to a third-quarter loss on impacts from
restructuring efforts and the July sale of its needle roller
bearings business, but posted a surprise profit excluding the
impacts.
As a result, the maker of bearings and specialty steel products
anticipates less red ink in 2009 than it had projected, narrowing
the target to 10 cents to 30 cents a share from 40 cents to 90
cents. When that view was made in July, Chief Executive James
Griffith said the company was seeing signs that customers'
destocking activities could go "longer and deeper" than expected.
He didn't make any similar comments Thursday.
Timken has been cutting jobs and production amid an industrywide
slump in steel demand among its key buyers in the automotive,
construction and industrial-equipment sectors.
The company swung to a loss of $50.1 million, or 52 cents a
share, from year-earlier profit of $129.2 million, or $1.34 a
share. Excluding the charges, earnings from continuing operations
were 8 cents.
Revenue plunged 43% to $763.6 million.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters were expecting a loss,
excluding items, of 25 cents on revenue of $771 million.
Sales in the bearings and transmission group, its largest
business, dropped 28% as profit fell 47%. Sales fell in all of its
other units as well.
Timken closed Wednesday at $20.90 and didn't trade premarket.
The stock is up just 6.5% this year.
-By Mike Barris, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2330;
mike.barris@dowjones.com