The Valspar Corp, a Minneapolis MN-based coatings manufacturer, expects earnings for the first quarter ending Jan 26, 2001, to be in the range of 10 cents per share. In the first quarter of fiscal 2000, Valspar earned 26 cents per share on revenues of $323.7 million.
The company said the improved sales trends reflected in its fiscal 2000 fourth quarter have not continued. Instead, Valspar has experienced a decline in sales in its architectural coatings product line due to softening retail demand and renewed customer inventory reduction efforts. In addition, Valspar's margins remain under continued pressure from increased raw material costs.
Richard M Rompala, chairman, president, and chief executive officer, said, "The majority of the expected shortfall in our first quarter results is attributable to dilution from the Lilly Industries acquisition completed on Dec 20, 2000. Due to the timing of the completion of the acquisition and other factors, a disproportionate amount of first-year dilution from Lilly will occur in our first quarter."