General Cable fiscal 3Q tumbles 68 percent

Fiber optic provider General Cable posts 68 percent drop in fiscal third-quarter profit

• On 11:08 am EDT, Monday October 26, 2009

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. (AP) -- General Cable Corp. said Monday its fiscal third-quarter profit fell 68 percent as the recession slashed demand for its fiber optic and metal cable products.

General Cable also issued fourth-quarter guidance well below Wall Street expectations and shares plunged.

For the three months ended Oct. 2, net income fell to $16.4 million, or 31 cents per share, compared with $50.5 million, 94 cents per share, in the year-earlier period.

Before one-time items the company earned 55 cents per share.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected, on average, 53 cents per share. Such expectations typically exclude one-time items.

Sales fell to $1.08 billion from $1.63 billion. Analysts expected $1.07 billion.

"The company is facing a demand environment in North America, which is much worse than the last recession earlier this decade, while demand in Iberia is off nearly 50 percent," CEO Gregory B. Kenny said.

In morning trading the stock dropped $4, or 10.3 percent, to $34.61.