A. Schulman posts 4Q loss, beats Wall St. estimate

A. Schulman, partly crediting cash for clunkers, posts 4Q results beating Wall Street estimate

• On 11:09 am EDT, Monday October 19, 2009

AKRON, Ohio (AP) -- A. Schulman Inc., which makes plastic compounds and resins for consumer products and automotive markets, posted a fourth-quarter loss Monday, weighed down by restructuring and asset impairment charges.

Adjusted for the charges, however, the Akron, Ohio, manufacturer beat Wall Street estimates, partly crediting the federal government's cash for clunkers program.

A. Schulman posted a loss of $7.9 million, or 30 cents per share, down from a profit of $4.7 million, or 17 cents per share in its fiscal 2008 fourth quarter.

The quarter included charges of about $13.3 million, primarily related to asset impairments and restructuring, the company said.

Excluding the charges, income for the fourth quarter was $5.4 million, or 21 cents per share, compared with $6.8 million, or 26 cents per share, in the fourth quarter of 2008.

Analysts, who typically exclude charges, expected earnings of 16 cents per share.

Revenue of $320.6 million for the quarter ended Aug. 31 was down 35 percent from $495.8 million in the same quarter last year.

Joseph M. Gingo, chairman, president and CEO, said that despite "significantly lower volume," the company's efforts to focus on higher value-added products and reduce operating costs resulted in strong margin gains.

The company said it benefited from an unexpected increase in demand in August, particularly for engineered plastics products, due to the cash for clunkers program and other incentives.

For the full year, A. Schulman posted a $2.9 million loss, or 11 cents per share, down from a profit of $18 million, or 66 cents per share, for fiscal 2008.

The results included about $19.2 million of charges related to restructuring, asset impairments, curtailment gains and employee termination costs, A. Schulman said. Excluding the charges, income would have been $16.4 million or 64 cents per share.

Revenue for the year was $1.3 billion, down 36 percent from $1.98 billion last year.

Shares rose 67 cents, or 3.4 percent, to $20.21 in morning trading.

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