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What: Shares of Avery Dennison (AVY 0.52%) were on a roll today, gaining as much as 11%, after announcing the sale of two units to CCL Industries, and reporting earnings.
So what: Avery Dennison, which makes branded labels and packaging materials, had previously agreed to sell its office and consumer products and design and engineered solutions divisions to 3M a year ago, but the deal fell through due to antitrust concerns. The sale to CCL will bring in $500 million in cash, $400 million of which will be used for stock buybacks and pension contributions. At a market cap of under $4 billion, those buybacks should boost help the share price.
Now what: Avery Dennison also beat earnings estimates with $0.54 a share versus the $0.48 consensus, and revenue topped expectations, growing 5%, to $1.53 billion. The company also provided EPS guidance ahead of the Street's $2.39 view, projecting earnings of $2.40 to $2.80 for 2013, despite the loss of the two units above in the deal, which is expected to close in 2013. The results look good, but I'd watch out for sliding revenue in the future, as those units contributed about 15% of sales.
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