Ball Corporation (BLL) a provider or metal packaging products, Thursday posted lower profit for the first quarter on reduced revenue for the period. Adjusted earnings per share further were short of what analysts expected.
For the quarter the company posted net income attributable to Ball of $72 million, down from $88.3 million a year back. On a per share basis earnings were $0.47 compared with $0.55 last year.
On an comparable basis, the firm posted earnings per share of $0.58 for the period. Thirteen analysts on average polled by Thomson Reuters estimated earnings per share of $0.64 for the three months. Analysts estimates typically exclude one-time items.
The firm clocked revenue of $1.991 billion for the quarter versus $2.042 billion a year back. Analysts were looking for higher revenue of $2.09 billion.
Looking forward, John Hayes, chief executive officer said, "While business fundamentals have not changed and the majority of our operations are on track to improve performance year-over-year, our first quarter results make it unlikely that we can reach our long-term goal of 10 to 15 percent diluted earnings per share growth in 2013."
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