Second quarter 2011 net earnings were $78 million (or $0.62 per diluted share), compared with net earnings of $937 million (or $7.33 per diluted share) in the second quarter of 2010.
“Owens Corning delivered a strong second quarter,” says Owens Corning Chairman and CEO Mike Thaman. “The actions we took in the quarter built significant momentum across the company and position us for a strong second half.”
Second quarter adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) was $135 million in 2011 compared with $130 million in the second quarter of 2010.
Outlook
Owens Corning, Toledo, Ohio, USA, is a global producer of residential and commercial building materials, glass fibre reinforcements and engineered materials for composite systems.
Owens Corning had previously estimated that its Composites business would grow EBIT in excess of 40% for the year. However, as a result of a near-term correction in the Chinese wind energy market, as well as higher than anticipated inflation costs, the company now expects EBIT growth of about 25%.
The company continues to believe that the Insulation business will be profitable in the second half of 2011.
In Roofing, Owens Corning believes full-year EBIT margins of 20% are achievable in 2011. Storm activity in the US in the first half of the year has created momentum in demand that is expected to continue into the second half of 2011.
“Given the performance of our portfolio, we have increased our 2011 estimate for EBIT to $500 million or more,” Thaman says. “This translates into adjusted earnings per share growth of more than 40% versus 2010.”
Composites
Net sales for the Owens Corning Composites business increased for both the quarter and year-to-date comparison. For the quarter, net sales were favorably impacted by translating sales denominated in foreign currencies into US dollars and higher selling prices. Partially offsetting the increase in net sales for the second quarter of 2011 comparison to the second quarter of 2010 was the impact of the May divestiture of the Capivari, Brazil, facility.
Selling prices of key product groups within the Reinforcements business have returned to levels seen prior to the 2008 global economic downturn.
For both periods, volumes were flat on a year-over-year basis as growth in many markets was offset by lower demand in the Chinese wind energy market.
EBIT grew by 31% and 41% for the quarter and year-to-date periods, respectively.
