Cooper Tire & Rubber Turns To Profit In Q3, Results Top View - Update

(RTTNews) - Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. (CTB) Friday reported a profit for the third quarter compared with a loss last year, as sales grew with higher unit volume. Earnings per share, as well as revenues topped analysts' expectations.

For the quarter, net income attributable to the company was $47.7 million, or $0.77 per share, compared with a loss of $168 thousand or break-even per share last year.

On average, six analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $0.72 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

According to the company, last year's third quarter was impacted by a number of unusual circumstances, including labor actions at Cooper Chengshan (Shandong) Tire Company Ltd, or CCT, the firm's joint venture in China.

Net sales increased 11 percent to $920.08 million from $832.42 million in 2013, amid higher unit volume that increased 14 percent from last year. Analysts expected revenues of $912.13 million.

"Our third quarter performance continued the solid trends we saw during the first half. Even after adjusting for the unusual issues last year, we had strong unit volume growth, particularly in the Americas segment," said Roy Armes, chairman, chief executive officer, and president.

In Americas Tire Operations, third-quarter net sales rose 10 percent to $694 million. Net sales of International Tire Operations was $313 million, up 19 percent from last year.

Raw material costs for the recent quarter declined about 2 percent from second quarter of 2014.

The company expects fourth-quarter raw material costs to be down slightly from the third quarter. The long-term raw material outlook is for costs to generally trend higher, with periods of volatility.

Capital expenditures for 2014 are expected to be between $175 million and $185 million.

CTB closed Thursday's trading at $33.13. In the pre-market activity on Friday, the shares are up 3.38 percent.