Wallingford cable-connectors maker Amphenol Corp. said that its fourth-quarter earnings fell by 11 percent, in part due to a charge related to a debt refinance.
The maker of electronic and fiber-optic connectors earned $87.6 million, or 50 cents per share, in the quarter. That compares with a profit of $98.7 million, or 56 cents, in the same period a year earlier.
Amphenol booked a 2 cents per share charge for ending an interest rate swap agreement related to the refinance of a $600 million senior note issuance. The prior year’s fourth quarter got a 3 percent boost from a lower tax rate.
Excluding these items, Amphenol earned 52 cents per share compared with 53 cents in 2008.
Revenue rose to $758.3 million from $755.3 million, buoyed by a 2 percent gain due to foreign currency translation.
The results nevertheless beat analysts’ expectations. They had forecast, on average, earnings of 49 cents per share on revenue of $736.4 million, according to Thomson Reuters.
For the year, Amphenol earned $317.8 million compared with $419.2 million. Revenue fell 13 percent to $2.8 billion from $3.2 billion.
Amphenol expects to report revenue of $735 million to $750 million for the first quarter and earnings of 49 cents per share to 51 cents. The outlook tops analysts’ estimates of $724.3 million in revenue and earnings of 48 cents. (AP)
