Jarden 1Q profit climbs even as sales drop

Jarden Corp. said it first-quarter profit surged 89 percent, even as sales declined on a stronger dollar.

The company, whose brands include Coleman, Rawlings, Mr. Coffee and Oster, said last week that it expected its adjusted quarterly profit to easily beat Wall Street's expectations.

Late Tuesday the appliance and consumer products company reported earnings of $8.9 million, or 12 cents per share. That compares with a profit of $4.7 million, or 6 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding reorganization and acquisition-related costs and other items, net income was $18.4 million, or 24 cents per share. The amount was higher than Jarden's forecast of 21 cents to 23 cents per share.

Sales for the period ended March 31 dropped 7 percent to $1.14 billion from $1.22 billion.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, whose estimates generally exclude one-time items, forecast profit of 22 cents per share.

Interest expense fell to $36.2 million from $46.2 million, a year earlier.