Libbey shares plunge on earnings warnings

10/3/2002

Shares in Libbey, Inc., plunged $4.14 yesterday to $27.32 after the Toledo glassmaker warned that its third and fourth-quarter earnings would be lower than analysts expected.

Libbey said its third-quarter earnings would be 66 cents to 70 cents a share and fourth quarter earnings would be a "solid" 58 cents to 63 cents a share. A consensus of analysts polled by First Call/Thomson Financial expected Libbey's earnings to be 88 cents in the third quarter and 67 cents in the fourth.

September sales were lower than expected because of a weakened economy, said Libbey, which repurchased $10.1 million worth of shares in the third quarter. Higher expenses such as increases in provisions for bad debts and lower equity earnings primarily because of decreased sales at Libbey's Mexican joint venture, Vitrocrisa, contributed to the reduced earnings, according to the company.