Say what you will about the ups and downs of consumer products companies like Chattem (NASDAQ:CHTT), Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD), Helen of Troy (NASDAQ:HELE), or Unilever (NYSE:UL) -- none of them are botching things quite like SpectrumBrands (NYSE:SPC) has. And for investors who've stuck with this troubled maker of batteries, shavers, and fish food, today's 29% drop in the stock is just another kick to the gut.
Remember, this is the company whose estimates and market cap have been melting like ice cream in the sun for a while now. This is also the company that said it needed to "execute flawlessly" on cost-cutting initiatives to achieve the annual savings goals needed to uphold guidance. When a company that hasn't even executed at an average level needs to improve to flawless, you're asking for trouble.
Management didn't blame this quarter's projected underperformance on non-flawless execution on the cost side. Rather, it was the state of battery sales in Europe and shaving/grooming products in North America that were to blame. I guess the French and Germans bought too many Duracells from Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG), and wives and children didn't buy enough Remingtons this Father's Day.
Perhaps some of the reaction is due to the fact that Spectrum didn't say how bad things actually are -- it just said "substantially lower" than prior guidance. I guess when you've been performing like this, "substantially lower" could be really, really bad.
The company also noted that it has hired Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) to help with selective asset sales -- sales that would reduce debt and "sharpen the company's focus." You know what else might sharpen the company's focus? How about telling management something like "run this business better or you're fired"? That usually has a way of sharpening a person's focus.
When I last wrote on Spectrum, I said I wanted to see a quarter or two of leveling-off before taking the plunge on a turnaround. Suffice it to say, that isn't happening right now. At some point I'm sure there's a bottom-of-the-barrel value on these assets, but your guess is as good as mine as to whether we've reached that yet.
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Fool contributor Stephen Simpson has no financial interest in any stocks mentioned (that means he's neither long nor short the shares).
