Business
Neenah Paper Reports 2007 First Quarter Results
Neenah Paper Reports 2007 First Quarter Results.
About this update from Northpalm Capital Corp.
[{"type":"text","content":"\n\n\n\nALPHARETTA, Ga., May 9 /CNW/ -- Neenah Paper, Inc. (NYSE: NP) today\nreported income from continuing operations for the first quarter 2007 of $15.2\nmillion, or $1.01 per diluted common share, compared with income from\ncontinuing operations of $3.4 million, or $0.23 per diluted common share, for\nthe first quarter of 2006. Net sales of $224.7 million for the first quarter\n2007 increased almost 70 percent versus the prior year, while operating income\nof $27.6 million grew 176 percent from $10.0 million reported in the first\nquarter 2006. Results for the first quarter of 2007 include the company's\nrecent acquisitions of Neenah Germany and Fox River Paper Company.\n\n\nCommenting on results for the quarter, Sean Erwin, Chairman and Chief\nExecutive Officer said, "The benefits of the strategic changes we have made\nover the past year are evident with our increased scale and more profitable\nand diversified businesses. We are realizing gains with our expanded Technical\nProducts platform and are excited about our ability to move forward as the\nleader in the premium fine paper market and take advantage of the\nopportunities and synergies available from the Fox River acquisition. Our\nresults also reflect record operating performance at our Pictou pulp mill and\nongoing strength in the pulp market."\n\n\nFine Paper net sales of $72.3 million in the first quarter of 2007 grew\n24 percent compared with $58.1 million in the first quarter of 2006, primarily\ndue to added sales from Fox River following its acquisition on March 1, 2007.\nOperating income of $12.4 million in the first quarter of 2007 declined from\n$15.6 million in the first quarter of 2006. The decrease resulted from\nsignificantly higher prices for hardwood pulp as well as a less favorable\nsales mix and weaker market conditions. These items were only partly offset by\nhigher selling prices and improved manufacturing efficiencies.\n\n\nTechnical Products net sales of $100.7 million in the first quarter of\n2007 more than tripled from $33.0 million in the same period of 2006. In\naddition to reflecting a full quarter for Neenah Germany, sales benefited from\nincreased volumes and higher net prices in domestic operations. Operating\nincome for the first quarter of 2007 was $10.2 million compared to $2.0\nmillion in the first quarter of 2006. The higher...