ACCO Brands Q3 Profit Falls, Misses View; Guides 2013 Earnings Below Estimates

(RTTNews) - ACCO Brands Corporation (ACCO), a supplier of office products, reported a drop in earnings for the third quarter as sales fell by 6 percent primarily due to decline in demand and volume in North America. Earnings also fell short of analysts' estimates. The company also provided full-year adjusted earnings forecast, below the Street view.

Earnings declined to $26.4 million, or $0.23 per share, from $55.2 million, or $0.48 per share, a year ago.

Adjusted earnings during the period decreased to $29.1 million, or $0.25 per share, from $33.2 million, or $0.29 per share last year. On an average, seven analysts polled by Thomson-Reuters estimated the company's earnings to be $0.33 for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude one-time items.

Net sales decreased to $469.2 million from $501.1 million a year ago. North America division reported decreased sales of $295.9 million this quarter, which is the lion's share of the company's sales, compared with $321.4 million a year ago.

Citing challenges in the industry and macro environmental factors, the company expects full year sales to decline at a rate of mid- to-high-single-digits. Analysts estimate revenues for the year to be $1.8 billion.

Further, the company expects full year adjusted earnings per share of $0.78 to $0.81, excluding currency. Analysts estimate earnings for the year to be $0.88.

Tuesday the stock closed at $7.09 on the Nasdaq.