Water treatment and process improvement company Nalco Holding Co. (NLC), Tuesday said its first quarter net income attributable to Nalco Holdings decreased from the same quarter a year ago, due to decline in sales triggered by lower segmental sales. First quarter results were also negatively impacted by a stronger U.S. dollar.
First-quarter net income attributable to Naperville, Illinois-based Nalco Holdings declined to $23.2 million or $0.17 per share from $29.2 million or $0.20 per share in the first quarter of last year.
On average, 13 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to earn $0.19 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items such as one-time charges or gains.
Operating earnings for the first quarter also declined to $90.1 million from $111.9 million in the corresponding quarter a year ago despite a decline in operating expenses. Operating expenses for the fourth quarter came in at $778.3 million, down from $887.8 million in the same quarter last year.
Net sales for the first quarter declined to $868.4 million from $999.7 million in the same quarter a year ago. First quarter revenue were below the analysts' revenue forecast of $933.42 million for the first quarter.
The company recorded a 3.6% decline in organic sales related to a decline in nominal sales to $868 million from $1 billion in the first quarter of last year. The company said 8.35% decline in first quarter sales were due to the effects of currency translation and the remaining 1.2% of the decline in sales were due to divestitures.
Sales from energy services for the first quarter were $338.3 million, down from $347.4 million in the corresponding quarter a year ago.
Sales from the water services segment for the first quarter decreased to $373.5 million from $450.6 million in the same quarter last year, hurt by decline in sales from North America, Asia and Europe.
Sales from the paper services segment declined to $153.7 million from $200.7 million in the first quarter of last year due to a steep decline in paper end markets.
Other sales for the first quarter were also down at $2.9 million from $1.0 million in the corresponding quarter last year.
Total segment direct revenue contribution for the first quarter was $149.9 million, down from $178.8 million in the first quarter of previous year.
NLC closed Tuesday's trading session at $14.57, down $0.84 or 5.45% on a volume of 3.569 million shares on the NYSE.
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