Materion Corporation (MTRN) , the $665 million US-based metals and mining company, reported drastically lower guidance for its upcoming third-quarter earnings report that sent shares tumbling on Monday morning heading towards the closing bell.
While analysts covering the company had expected earnings per share from the soon-to-end period at $0.39, Materion’s revision amounts to just a nudge over half of that, at $0.20 per share.
The company cited a number of factors for the disappointing announcement, the most prominent of which can be attributed to a slowdown in sales, particularly shipments of some high-margin defense products. No comment was offered on whether or not the lack of orders has anything to do with the lingering effects of sequestration that was implemented earlier in the year, nor if the current impasse and government shutdown have contributed to the underwhelming earnings report that is expected.
The company tried to put a positive spin on the early release of pretty bad news, however, saying that its fourth quarter should be the strongest of the year, with EPS expected to exceed the $0.43 posted by Materion during Q2.
Materion’s CEO and Chairman Richard Hipple provided his own assessment of the situation with today’s news, saying: “In spite of the unexpected weakness visible in the order book and the noted unexpected delay of specific high-margin shipments that occurred in the third quarter, I am encouraged by the progress in the new beryllium pebble plant and our new product initiatives. These, along with improving overall market conditions and the lower cost structure, should result in significantly improved earnings in 2014.”
Shares had dropped over 10 percent to $29 a piece, still $10 above the stock’s 52-week low.
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