Cooper Cos. 3Q profit misses expectations

Cooper Cos. shares dip after-hours, as contact lens maker posts 3Q results shy of forecast

• On 7:14 pm EDT, Thursday September 3, 2009

PLEASANTON, Calif. (AP) -- Cooper Cos. Inc. said Thursday higher revenue and lower expenses combined to lift the contact lens maker's fiscal third-quarter earnings nearly 23 percent. However, the results missed Wall Street expectations, sending shares down 4 percent in aftermarket trading.

For the three months ended July 31, net income rose to $21.9 million, or 48 cents per share, compared with $17.9 million, or 39 cents per share, in the year-earlier period. Excluding one-time items, profit totaled 54 cents per share.

Sales rose to $285.2 million from $278.5 million.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected, on average, higher profit of 62 cents per share on revenue of $288.8 million. Such estimates typically exclude one-time items.

"Although our quarterly earnings were lower than we would have liked, we generated extremely strong cash flow and now expect roughly $100 million of free cash flow for the fiscal year," CEO Robert S. Weiss said.

In aftermarket trading, shares fell $1.12, or 4.2 percent, to $25.55, having closed the regular session up 31 cents at $26.67.