Newell Rubbermaid Q4 Reported Profit Falls, Normalized EPS Up - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Newell Rubbermaid's (NWL) fourth-quarter 2014 reported net income plunged to $52.0 million, from $117.3 million in the prior-year period. Reported earnings per share were $0.19, compared with the prior year's $0.41. The year-on-year decline in reported earnings per share was attributable to a $65.4 million non-cash pension settlement charge associated with a voluntary offer to certain pension plan participants, a loss on extinguishment of debt, and a significant increase in advertising and promotion support, partially offset by increased core sales, gross margin expansion, lower restructuring costs, contribution from acquisitions and the positive impact of fewer outstanding shares.

On a normalized basis, net income was $135.3 million, compared with $132.5 million a year ago. Normalized earnings per share were $0.49, an increase of 6.5 percent versus $0.46 in the prior-year period. The increase was attributable to higher core sales, gross margin expansion, contribution from acquisitions, and the positive impact of fewer outstanding shares, partially offset by a higher tax rate, negative foreign currency impacts and a significant increase in advertising and promotion support. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.48 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Net sales in the fourth quarter were $1.53 billion compared with $1.47 billion in the prior year. Core sales grew 3.3 percent, excluding 320 basis points of negative foreign currency impact and a 400 basis point contribution from acquisitions. Wall Street expected revenues of $1.52 billion for the fourth quarter.

Going ahead, the firm revised its 2015 full-year core sales growth and normalized EPS guidance metrics to reflect an improved outlook for core sales growth and the negative impact of changes in foreign currency conditions. Normalized EPS is expected to lie between $2.10 and $2.18 for 2015.