Tronox shares fall after posting 3Q loss
STAMFORD, Conn. (AP) — Toronx Ltd.'s shares fell sharply Tuesday after the titanium products company reported a third-quarter loss.
THE SPARK: Tronox said late Monday that it lost $16.7 million, or 14 cents per share, for its fiscal third quarter ended Sept. 30 versus net income of $98.9 million, or $1.25 per share, in the same quarter last year.
On an adjusted basis, it earned 21 cents per share in the latest quarter. The three analysts polled by FactSet were expecting the company would earn 45 cents per share, on average.
Its revenue increased 5 percent to $487.3 million, helped by an acquisition of a mineral sands business. The analysts expected higher revenue of $532.1 million.
THE BIG PICTURE: Tronox CEO Tom Casey said that while this was the first full quarter that the company operated with its recently acquired supplier of mineral sands and pigment, the full advantages of the deal are not reflected in its financial performance.
The company struggled with higher costs for goods sold and weak demand for its pigment products, among other problems. The company expects demand in several of its markets to improve in 2013 and 2014.
SHARE ACTION: Shares fell $2.74, or 14.6 percent, to $15.98 in afternoon trading after falling as low as $14.12 earlier in the session. That was its lowest on record dating to December 2010, according to FactSet.
