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Stanley Works Rises After 1Q Earnings Beat Street

The Associated Press

CHICAGO (AP) — Stanley Works shares climbed Friday after the tool maker posted a better-than-expected first-quarter profit and issued a full-year outlook.

The New Britain, Conn.-based company said it earned $37.7 million, or 47 cents per share, for the three months that ended compared with $66.5 million, or 83 cents per share, a year earlier.

Revenue slipped 15 percent to $913 million, from $1.07 billion in the first quarter of 2008.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected a profit of 39 cents per share on $968.2 million in sales.

Janney analyst James C. Lucas told investors in a research note that he was maintaining his "Neutral" rating on the manufacturer.

"Stanley continues to aggressively right-size its cost structure and as we have stated in the past, restructuring is a core competency at Stanley," he wrote Friday.

Earlier in the day, Stanley Works also said it expects sales to remain weak through the rest of the year, and issued a wide earnings prediction range mostly below Wall Street's expectations.

The company sees 2009 earnings between $2 and $2.50 per share. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters currently expect a profit of $2.38 per share.

Stanley Works shares climbed $3.82, or 11.4 percent, to $37.44 in late afternoon trading Friday.