Cooper Tire & Rubber Q1 Profit Slips - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. (CTB) on Friday reported a drop in first-quarter 2014 net income attributable to the company to $45.4 million, or $0.71 per share, from $56.08 million, or $0.87 per share, last year. On average, 3 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings per share of $0.49 for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude one-time items.

Quarterly operating profit was $81 million, which is $16 million lower than the first quarter of 2013 and 10.2% of net sales. Factors impacting operating profit in the recent quarter included unfavorable pricing and mix of $96 million, which was partially offset by lower raw material costs of $67 million, manufacturing cost efficiencies of $11 million, higher unit volumes of $8 million and lower products liability costs of $2 million, the company said.

For the quarter, net sales totaled $796.46 million, a decrease from $861.68 million reported a year ago; whereas two analysts estimated $836.15 million in revenues.

Looking ahead, raw material prices fell nearly 4% from the fourth quarter of 2013 to the first quarter of 2014. Second-quarter raw material prices are likely to be nearly flat sequentially compared with the first quarter. The long-term raw material outlook is for prices to generally trend higher with periods of volatility. For 2014, capital expenditures are projected to range between $165 million and $175 million.