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The Valspar Corp. is giving thanks this week with a year-end financial report that reverses the red-ink performance that closed fiscal 2011.
Fourth-quarter sales were flat, but share prices rose and sales improved for the year overall, completing the Minneapolis-based paint and coatings maker’s rebound from the massive year-ending loss of last year.
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Photos: Valspar Corp. |
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Valspar's consumer brands include Guardsman, Cabot Stain, Duramax, Medallion, Devine Color, PlastiKote, Valspar interior and exterior primers and paints, and Quikrete coatings.
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Fiscal year 2012 sales totaled $4.02 billion for the year ending Oct. 26, a two percent increase from fiscal year 2011, Valspar reported Tuesday (Nov. 20) in delivering its fourth-quarter and full-year results.
Adjusted net income per share increased by 24 percent to $3.28 in 2012 from $2.65 in 2011, excluding $0.18 per share in restructuring charges.
Reported net income for fiscal year 2012 was $292.5 million, or $3.10 per share.
Turnaround Time
The numbers were a marked improvement from a year ago, when the world’s sixth-largest paint and coatings company reported a net loss of $295.72 million ($3.18 per share) for the fourth quarter, compared to net income of $51.3 million ($0.51 per share) for the fourth quarter of 2010. The reported net loss for fiscal year 2011 was $138.6 million or $1.47 per share.
This year, however, has seen steady improvement. Valspar’s first quarter brought double-digit gains and a brighter full-year earnings outlook. The second quarter showed solid sales increases. Third-quarter growth was slower, but the previous gains held.
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Valspar many consumer brands include Guardsman, Devine Color and Cabot Stain.
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Valspar's extensive consumer brands include Valspar, Medallion, Duramax, Devine Color and PlastiKote paints, stains and primers; Cabot Stain, Guardsman and McCloskey Man O'War wood products; and Quikrete Coatings. Its high-performance architectural coatings consist of an extrusion coating line and coil surface coatings.
Valspar's protective line includes coatings for oil and gas pipeline, tanks, utilities, containers, and concrete-reinforcing steel.
Q4: Sales Slip
Fourth-quarter sales totaled $1.02 billion, compared to $1.05 billion for the fourth quarter of 2011. Excluding currency impact, sales were flat in the quarter.
Fourth-quarter adjusted net income per share was $0.86 in 2012, up two cents from 2011. However, the $0.84 of 2011 included $0.09 from a one-time non-recurring benefit from favorable tax rulings. In 2012, fourth-quarter adjusted net income per share in 2012 excludes $0.07 per share in restructuring charges.
Reported net income for the fourth quarter of 2012 was $73.8 million or $0.79 per share.
Overcoming Challenges
Valspar chairman and CEO Gary E. Hendrickson emphasized the company’s earnings picture and new business.
“We are pleased to deliver our fourth consecutive year of double-digit earnings growth,” Hendrickson said. “We overcame the challenge of uneven global markets by winning significant new business and through a relentless focus on productivity.
“We continued to invest in our brands and innovative technology to secure long-term growth. In addition, we returned cash to shareholders by repurchasing 5.7 million shares and increased our dividend for the 34th consecutive year.”
‘Uneven’ Times Ahead
Hendrickson laid out the pluses and minuses ahead for 2013.
“We expect uneven global demand to continue, but we are well-positioned for growth in both our Coatings and Paints segments,” he said. “We have a strong new product pipeline to help gain new market share.
“Additionally, our productivity initiatives and operating discipline will support further margin expansion. We estimate fiscal 2013 net income per share to be in the range of $3.65 to $3.85, delivering another year of double-digit earnings growth.”
This was Valspar’s last earnings report under the leadership of CFO Lori A. Walker, who has announced her retirement.
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