5 day forecast
Third-quarter profit drops at Koppers by more than one-fourth
Share with others:
Koppers Holdings Inc. said third-quarter profit dropped 29 percent because of higher raw material costs, a sluggish European economy and unexpected charges related to physical plant disruptions at facilities in Australia and The Netherlands.
Profit fell to $16 million, or 77 cents per share, from $22.4 million, or $1.08 per share, in the year-ago quarter.
Sales improved 2 percent to $387.9 million from $381.2 million a year ago.
Walter Turner, chief executive of the Downtown Pittsburgh-based manufacturer of carbon chemicals and wood treatment products, said despite the decline in profits, he expects a strong fourth quarter and improved earnings for the full year.
Sales for Koppers' wood treatment products for the railroad and utility industries jumped by 8 percent because of high demand, he said, while the carbon chemicals segment was hurt by a pitch tank leak at an Australian plant and a plant outage in Uithoorn, The Netherlands.
First Published November 8, 2012 9:44 am
