Cooper Tire & Rubber Q1 Profit Down

(RTTNews) - Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. (CTB) reported first quarter 2017 net income of $31 million or $0.57 per share, down from $59 million or $1.05 per share last year.

In the Thursday's pre-Market trade, CTB is currently trading at $40.05, down $3.35 or 7.72%.

First quarter net sales were $643 million, a decrease of 1.0 percent compared with $650 million in the first quarter of 2016. First quarter net sales were negatively impacted by $11 million of lower unit volume and $9 million of negative foreign currency impact, partially offset by $13 million of favorable price and mix, primarily due to net price increases related to higher raw material costs.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.69 per share and revenues of $687.92 million for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Overall, Cooper's first quarter unit volume was up 2.9 percent year over year. Unit volume in the Americas segment was down 7.4 percent, driven by a decrease of 9.3 percent in North America. This was more than offset by strong unit volume performance in the International segment, which was up 31.4 percent.

The company reaffirmed full year 2017 guidance at high end of 8 to 10 percent consolidated operating profit margin range. Capital expenditures are expected to range from $220 million to $250 million for the year.

Unit volume growth in all segments except North America. Unit volume in the U.S. is expected to improve relative to the industry for the second quarter and be in line with the industry in the second half of the year.