Lower costs and higher prices help Owens-Illinois

Lower energy costs and higher prices boost Owens-Illinois' 3rd-quarter earnings 61 percent

• On 6:10 pm EDT, Wednesday October 28, 2009

PERRYSBURG, Ohio (AP) -- Owens-Illinois Inc., a glass manufacturer, said Wednesday it posted a higher third-quarter profit because of higher prices, curtailed production and lower energy costs.

The company posted earnings of $126.7 million, or 74 cents per share, up 61 percent from $78.6 million, or 46 cents per share, a year ago.

Excluding the impact of discontinued operations and charges, Owens-Illinois posted net income of 95 cents per share.

Sales declined 6.7 percent to $1.87 billion, matching Wall Street expectations, from $2.01 billion.

Glass shipments declined 7 percent, partly because of weakness in South America.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected 93 cents per share and revenue of $1.87 billion. Analyst expectations typically do not include one-time events.

The company said it benefited from higher prices, curtailed production and furnace closings, and lower energy costs.

Fixed costs declined by $34 million in the third quarter and $104 million so far this year.

For the fourth quarter, the company said it will post lower earnings sequentially. The quarter will also contain higher corporate costs, taxes and net interest expense.

Shares of the company declined $1.01, or 3 percent, to $32.50 in aftermarket trading following the release of the earnings report. In the regular session, the stock was off $1.70, or 4.8 percent, to $33.51.

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