PITTSBURGH, May 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Calgon Carbon Corporation's results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2001 showed improvement over those reported a year earlier.
Sales for the first quarter of 2001 were $66.9 million, 1.5% better than first quarter 2000 sales of $65.9 million. Net income was $2.3 million versus $1.9 million in the first quarter of 2000. Earnings per share, which were in line with the company's previous forecasts, increased 20% to $0.06, as compared to $0.05 in the first quarter of 2000.
Sales from the Service and Engineered Solutions businesses, driven by new contracts, grew to 50% of total sales in the quarter, as compared to 45% in the first quarter of 2000. This shift in sales is consistent with Calgon Carbon's long-term strategy to emphasize services and solutions to customer problems.
Gross margin before depreciation in the first quarter of 2001 was 1.9 percentage points less than the first quarter of last year. In the carbon and service platforms, cost increases for energy and raw materials as well as a negative currency effect in Europe were essentially offset by productivity gains associated with last year's shut down of some activated carbon production. Engineered solutions gross margins, while traditionally lower than carbon and service, were down slightly from last year due to product mix.
In the first quarter of 2001, operating expenses decreased by 12% as compared to the first quarter of 2000 despite higher spending for promotion of consumer products. This improvement is due to cost savings associated with the streamlining and globalization of operations.
Calgon Carbon's board of directors declared a dividend of $0.05 per common share. Dividends will be issued to shareholders of record as of May 15, 2001, and will be payable on May 30, 2001.
Commenting on the results, Jim Cederna, Calgon Carbon's president and chief executive officer, said, "In spite of a challenging economy, we are making good progress toward our goals of sales growth in our service and solutions businesses and expanding our capabilities in consumer products. Our improved first quarter performance is a result of major changes that we made in 2000. Assuming that the economy doesn't weaken further, we expect that 2001 results will continue to be better than 2000."
Mr. Cederna noted that sales in the second quarter should be 2% or more above the second quarter of 2000, and should continue to improve throughout the second half of this year as compared to 2000. He added, "Earnings per share in the second quarter are expected to be at or above the $0.10 reported for the second quarter of 2000."
Calgon Carbon Corporation, headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is a global leader in services and solutions for making air and water cleaner and safer. The company employs approximately 1,000 people at 13 operating facilities and 12 sales and service centers worldwide.
