Material Sciences down on lower Q2 sales
Material Sciences Corp. (NYSE: MSC) shares are sagging after the provider of material-based solutions for acoustical and coating applications reported second-quarter sales of $56.2 million, below Wall Street projections of $62.4 million and down 16.6% from $67.3 million a year earlier.
The Elk Grove, Ill.-based company recorded a net loss of $2.3 million, or $0.16 per share, for the three months ended Aug. 31, below analyst expectations of earning $0.07 per share and compared with net income of $2.7 million, or $0.19 per share, in the year-ago quarter.
"Continued production cuts at the three largest North American automobile manufacturers hurt Material Sciences' second quarter sales, as did continued weakness in the housing market," CEO Clifford D. Nastas said in a statement. “We expect this slowdown in the U.S. auto market will continue at least through the balance of this fiscal year.”
Nastas will discuss the results during a morning investor conference call.
The firm’s selling, general and administrative expenses remained stable on a year-over-year basis—about $8.6 million during this year’s second quarter and fiscal 2006—but gross profit plummeted to $4.9 million, from $13.3 million during the same period of 2006.
In morning trading, MSC shares are down 5.02%, or $0.54, at $10.21. Over the last 52 weeks, shares have ranged from $8.25 to $13.59.
