Business
Neenah Paper Reports First Quarter Results
Neenah Paper Reports First Quarter Results.
About this update from Northpalm Capital Corp.
[{"type":"text","content":"\n\n\n\n\nALPHARETTA, Ga., May 9 /CNW/ -- (NYSE: NP) -- Neenah\nPaper, Inc. today reported net income of $0.9 million for the first quarter\n2006, or $0.06 per diluted common share, compared with net income of $2.7\nmillion, or $0.18 per diluted common share during the first quarter of 2005.\nFirst quarter 2005 results included after-tax charges for the closure of the\nTerrace Bay No. 1 mill of $0.19 per diluted common share. In January 2006, the\ncompany adopted SFAS 123R for recognizing stock-based compensation costs and\nfirst quarter 2006 results include a charge of $0.06 per share for the expense\nof such costs under this new standard.\nFor the Fine Paper business, first quarter 2006 net sales of $58.1 million\nexceeded sales of $57.9 million in the same quarter last year, as higher\naverage selling prices and an improved sales mix offset a three percent\ndecline in volumes. Operating income for the current quarter was $15.6 million\ncompared with $17.0 million in 2005. The reduction in operating income was\nprimarily attributable to higher costs for energy and raw materials in 2006,\npartly offset by the higher selling prices and more favorable mix.\nTechnical Products net sales of $33.0 million in the first quarter of 2006\ncompared with $35.9 million in the same period of 2005. The lower sales\nreflected an 11 percent decline in volumes which was primarily due to the\ntiming of orders for tape products. Operating income for the quarter was $2.0\nmillion compared with $4.7 million in the first quarter of 2005 largely due to\nreduced sales and manufacturing inefficiencies associated with the lower\nvolumes. Higher costs of energy and raw materials were offset by improved\nselling prices.\nNet sales for Pulp of $78.7 million in the first quarter compared with\nsales of $109.2 million in the same period of 2005. The decline in sales was\ndue to lower volumes at the Terrace Bay mill following the closure of the No.\n1 mill in May 2005 and suspension of production in February 2006 due to a\nstrike in the woodlands operations. Operating losses in the pulp segment\nimproved $3.3 million, from a loss of $11.1 million in the first quarter of\n2005 to a loss of $7.8 million in the same period 2006. In 2005, pulp\noperating results included $4.3 million for closure costs of the No. 1 mill at\nTerrace Bay. Excluding 2005 closure cost...