MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Paint and coatings maker Valspar Corp. said Tuesday its fiscal first-quarter profit rose 67 percent on margin improvements and higher sales.
The company's adjusted profit beat Wall Street predictions and the company boosted its profit guidance for the full fiscal year.
Valspar shares rose $1.79, or 4.1 percent, to $45.81 in afternoon trading, after climbing to a new 52-week high of $47.61 earlier in the day.
For the quarter ended Jan. 27, the Minneapolis-based company earned $55.8 million, or 58 cents per share, up from $33.4 million, or 34 cents per share, in the same quarter last year.
Excluding restructuring and acquisition-related charges, the company's adjusted profit was 62 cents per share, up from 39 cents per share a year ago.
Revenue rose 5.1 percent to $885.6 million from $842.4 million in the year-ago period.
Analysts, on average, expected a profit of 48 cents per share on $901.8 million in revenue, according to a FactSet poll. Analysts usually exclude one-time charges.
Valspar said its margins got a boost from pricing, productivity and cost-management improvements.
The company expects to post a fiscal 2012 profit of between $2.92 and $3.12 per share. Analysts polled by FactSet expect $3 per share.