ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Sigma-Aldrich Corp. said Tuesday that net income lifted in the second quarter by 2 percent, as its new facility in Taiwan boosted sales of specialty chemicals.
The results missed Wall Street estimates, however, and Sigma-Aldrich cut its earnings forecast for the year. Shares fell 2.3 percent in morning trading.
The St. Louis chemical company reported net income of $115 million, or 94 cents per share, for the three months ended June 30. That compares with $113 million, or 91 cents per share, for the same part of 2011.
Revenue increased by 4 percent to $664 million, from $637 in the year-ago period.
Analysts, on average, were expecting earnings of 97 cents per share, on revenue of $675.7 million, according to FactSet.
In March, the company opened a new manufacturing plant in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, dedicated to making materials used in electronics. The facility boosted sales in the quarter, and "orders continue to ramp-up nicely," President and CEO Rakesh Sachdev said.
The company now expects to earn between $3.80 and $3.90 per share in 2012, excluding costs related to restructuring, acquisitions and other one-time items. That's a reduction of 10 to 15 cents from its prior estimate, which Sigma-Aldrich said was due mainly to unfavorable foreign exchange rates. Sales are expected to grow this year by percentages that are in the low-to-mid single digits, the company said.
Wall Street was expecting profit for the year of $3.97, on average, with estimates ranging from $3.86 to $4.05. Analysts had projected, on average, annual revenue of $2.7 billion, about 8 percent higher than 2011, with estimates ranging from $2.65 billion to $2.74 billion.
Uncertainty about the economies of the U.S. and Europe tempered the company's outlook. The company said it is putting additional cost cutting measures in place to counter a slowdown in sales to some of its pharmaceutical customers.
Shares dropped by $1.60, or 2.3 percent, to $69.12 in morning trading, and earlier dipped as low as $68.50. The stock has changed hands between $56.18 and $74.94 in the past 52 weeks.
