AptarGroup Shares Decline On Lower 3Q Profit

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Shares of AptarGroup Inc. fell Thursday, a day after the maker of dispensers for perfumes and other liquids reported a 16 percent decline in third-quarter earnings due partly to weaker sales.

The Crystal Lake, Ill.-based company said Wednesday its net income dropped to $33.5 million, or 48 cents per share, for the three months ended Sept. 30. That's down from $39.7 million, or 57 cents per share, during the same period a year earlier.

Sales decreased 11 percent to $473.7 million from $532.2 million a year earlier. Product and custom tooling sales dropped 7 percent. Currency exchange rate changes accounted for 5 percent of the decline and acquisitions added 1 percent.

Peter Pfeiffer, the company's president and CEO, said in a statement that many of the company's customers "remained cautious in the quarter, but we believe inventory reductions were reaching an end in certain markets and our third-quarter results improved sequentially over our second-quarter results."

For the fourth quarter, the company said it expects earnings of 43 cents to 48 cents per share versus 46 cents per share in the year-earlier period. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters, on average, expect 46 cents per share.