H.B. Fuller stock falls after company sees 'slower' industrial production

Shares of H.B. Fuller Co. (FUL) dropped more than 4% in the extended session Wednesday after the maker of adhesives and other industrial products reported quarterly earnings that missed the mark and called for lower revenue for the year. H.B. Fuller earned $40 million, or 73 cents a share, in the fiscal second quarter, compared with $47 million, or 86 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted for one-time items, the company earned 93 cents a share. Revenue fell 10% to $898 million, thanks to lower volume, the company said. Analysts polled by FactSet expected earnings of $1.04 a share on sales of $970 million for the quarter. "Pricing discipline and focused efforts to reduce costs drove margin expansion and overcame a challenging volume environment, delivering second-quarter profit performance in-line with our expectations," Chief Executive Celeste Mastin said in a statement. The company called for fiscal 2023 net revenue to be down 3% to 5% as compared with fiscal 2022, "reflecting continued customer destocking actions and slower industrial production." It guided for adjusted EPS in a range between $3.80 and $4.20. FactSet consensus calls for EPS at around $4.15 for the year.

-Claudia Assis

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06-28-23 1633ET

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