Masco Corp Earnings: Swinging to a Loss After Two Quarters of Profit

S&P 500 (NYSE:SPY) component Masco Corporation (NYSE:MAS) reported its results for the fourth quarter. Masco manufactures and installs building and home improvement products including faucets, cabinets, architectural coatings, and windows.

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Masco Earnings Cheat Sheet for the Fourth Quarter

Results: Loss narrowed to $573 million (loss of $1.65 per diluted share) from $1.03 billion (loss of $2.96 per share) in the same quarter a year earlier.

Revenue: Rose 1.3% to $1.74 billion from the year earlier quarter.

Actual vs. Wall St. Expectations: Masco Corporation reported an adjusted net loss of 9 cents per share. By that measure, the company fell short of the mean analyst estimate of a loss of 3 cents per share. It fell short of the average revenue estimate of $1.78 billion.

Quoting Management: Our performance in 2011 was challenged by commodity cost volatility, a competitive retail environment, a flat housing environment in North America and difficult economic conditions in Europe” said Masco`s President and CEO, Tim Wadhams. “Despite these headwinds, we continued to: strengthen our leading brand positions, including the introduction of new products and programs; improve our cost structure and productivity; invest in future growth opportunities and improve our working capital management.”

Key Stats:

The company fell short of estimates last quarter after being in line with expectations the quarter before with net income of 8 cents.

The company’s loss in the latest quarter follows profits in the previous two quarters. The company reported a profit of $36 million in the third quarter and a profit of $8 million in the second quarter.

Looking Forward: The outlook for the company’s results in the upcoming quarter is unfavorable. The average estimate for the first quarter of the next fiscal year is one cent per share, down from 2 cents ninety days ago. For the fiscal year, the average estimate has been unchanged at 6 cents a share.

(Company fundamentals provided by Xignite Financials. Earnings estimates provided by Zacks)

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To contact the reporter on this story: Derek Hoffman at staff.writers@wallstcheatsheet.com

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Damien Hoffman at editors@wallstcheatsheet.com