Prestige stock plunges on earnings shortfall
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- January
- 13
Shares of Prestige Brands Holdings Inc. dropped nearly 18 percent today after the Irvington-based consumer products company battled a slowing economy and disappointed investors with earnings and sales projections that were below expectations.
Prestige, whose products include Comet cleanser, Murine eye drops and Prell shampoo, said that it expected earnings per share for its fiscal third quarter will be 1 cent to 2 cents below the previous year’s quarter when it reported net income of 17 cents a share.
Prestige blamed the shortfall on flat revenues and increased advertising costs for its key brands. Prestige and other consumer products companies are facing face headwinds from a slowing economy in which budget-strapped shoppers are spending less.“In today’s challenging economic climate, we are generally satisfied that our total revenues are expected to be even with last year,” Mark Pettie, chairman and chief executive officer, said in a written statement. “Importantly, most of our focus brands performed better than their respective categories during the quarter, resulting in market share gains for those franchises.”
The company is scheduled to release its full results before the market opens on Feb. 5.
Prestige’s shares fell $1.47 to $6.91 in late afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
This entry was posted
on Tuesday, January 13th, 2009 at 4:12 pm by Jay Loomis.
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