International Paper Earnings: Below Street Expectations

S&P 500 (NYSE:SPY) component International Paper Co. (NYSE:IP) reported its results for the third quarter. International Paper is a global paper and packaging company with operations in North America, Europe, Latin America, Russia, Asia and North Africa.

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International Paper Co. Earnings Cheat Sheet

Results: Net income for the paper and related products fell to $237 million (54 cents per share) vs. $468 million ($1.08 per share) a year earlier. This is a decline of 49.4% from the year-earlier quarter.

Revenue: Rose 5.9% to $7.03 billion from the year-earlier quarter.

Actual vs. Wall St. Expectations: International Paper Co. fell short of the mean analyst estimate of 77 cents per share. It fell short of the average revenue estimate of $7.31 billion.

Quoting Management: “The company generated excellent cash flow in the third quarter, despite the backdrop of slow global economic growth,” said John Faraci, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “Looking ahead to next year, many of our key strategic projects will be ramping up around the globe. This, along with our earnings trajectory in North America Industrial Packaging, will allow us to deliver significant progress on our earnings and cash flow runway as we head into 2013.”

Key Stats:

Revenue has now increased for three consecutive quarters. In the second quarter, revenue rose 6.5% to $7.08 billion while the figure rose 4.2% in the first quarter from the year earlier.

For two quarters in a row, the company has come in under analyst estimates. In the second quarter, it missed expectations by one cent with net income of 46 cents versus a mean estimate of net income of 47 cents per share.

Looking Forward: Analysts appear increasingly optimistic about the company’s results for the next quarter. The average estimate for the fourth quarter has moved up from 68 cents a share to 75 cents over the last sixty days. At $2.56 per share, the average estimate for the fiscal year has risen from $2.49 sixty days ago.

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

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