Cooper Tire & Rubber Q4 Profit Rises, Revenue Drops; Announces $200 Mln Buyback

(RTTNews) - Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. (CTB) said fourth-quarter attributable net income surged to $82 million, or $1.39 per share, from $20 million, or $0.31 per share, in the fourth quarter of 2013.

Excluding a gain on the joint venture interest sale, fourth-quarter earnings per share were $0.45. On average, seven analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $0.64 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Net sales dropped to $820 million from $861 million in 2013, due to lower volume related to the absence of CCT for part of the quarter, and unfavorable price and mix. Analysts expected revenues of $807.21 million.

Looking ahead, CEO Roy Armes said, "Overall, while we expect that global tire markets will remain highly competitive in 2015, we expect to exceed industry unit volume growth rates in our largest markets for the full year. House brands will be a key contributor to this growth. For the full year, we expect to continue our strong performance in line with our strategic plan."

Separately, the company said its Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of up to $200 million of the company's outstanding common stock through December 31, 2016.

The company recently completed a $200 million accelerated share repurchase program announced in August 2014. Under that program, around 6.4 million shares were bought at an average price of $31.49 per share. As of February 19, 2015, Cooper had approximately 57.4 million outstanding common shares.