Owens-Illinois 3Q income slips on year-ago events

PERRYSBURG, Ohio - Owens-Illinois Inc., which makes glass containers and other specialty packaging materials, said Wednesday that its net income slipped in the third quarter due to a significant one-time gain in the prior year.

The company said net income slipped to $78.6 million, or 46 cents per share, down from $1.16 billion, or $6.86 per share, in the year-ago quarter. Both quarters included one-time events.

The 2008 quarter included an after-tax charge of $79.7 million for restructuring costs and a $4.6 million net benefit from foreign tax items. The 2007 results include a $1.07 billion gain from the sale of a former plastics packaging business and a tax charge of $55 million, for restructuring and impairment related to glass container investments and operations in the Caribbean and Europe.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to earn 85 cents per share. Analyst expectations typically do not include one-time events.

The company said net sales grew to $2.01 billion for the quarter, up from $1.93 billion a year ago.

The company said higher prices and improved product mix accounted for a $149 million boost to sales for the quarter, offsetting a $146 million volume decline. Favorable currency translation contributed $82 million to the sales increase.

"The results of the third quarter are a clear affirmation of our strategic priorities," Al Stroucken, chairman and chief executive officer said. The results show Owens-Illinois' "ability to react quickly to changing demand patterns and customer inventory corrections in a highly inflationary environment is serving us well."

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.