Industrial products maker Crane Co. posted an $8.3 million loss for the fourth quarter, dragged down by huge charges associated with restructuring and environmental remediating as well as falling demand.
The company's loss came to 14 cents per share, compared with net income of $45.2 million, or 74 cents per share, in the year earlier quarter.
Crane's results included $25.7 million, or 44 cents per share, in restructuring charges and a charge of $15.8 million, or 27 cents per share, related to a Superfund site in Goodyear, Ariz.
Excluding special items, the company said earnings came to 56 cents per share. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, who typically exclude one-time items, expected 35 cents per share, on average.
Sales fell 12 percent to $589.3 million from $666 million.
"Crane, like many of our peer companies, saw significant deterioration in demand across several segments of our businesses in the fourth quarter as a result of the worldwide recession," Crane Chief Executive Eric C. Fast said in a statement.
For the full year, Crane posted income of $135.2 million, or $2.24 per share, up from a loss of $62.3 million, or $1.04, in 2007. The company noted that 2007 results included a $4.22 per share charge on an asbestos liability, however.
On an adjusted basis, 2008 earnings came to $176.7 million, or $2.93 per share, above the average Street estimate of $2.77.
Sales were roughly flat from the year before at $2.6 billion.
Crane on Monday also offered a full-year earnings projection for 2009 of $2.10 to $2.40 per share. Analysts' predictions range from $2 to $2.65.
Shares advanced 39 cents to $16.82 in after-hours trading after gaining 3 cents to close the regular session at $16.43.
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