Amcol 3Q Results Soar After Year-earlier Charge

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. (AP) — Specialty mineral producer Amcol International Corp. said Friday its third-quarter earnings rose sharply from a year earlier, when a charge related to an investment undermined results.

Net income jumped to $13.3 million, or 43 cents per share, for the three months ended Sept. 30. That compares with $1.9 million, or 6 cents per share, in the year-earlier period.

Earnings in the third quarter of 2008 included a charge of $16.7 million, or 54 cents per share, related to Amcol's investment in an affiliate. Excluding that amount, earnings would have been 60 cents per share.

The latest quarterly results include a charge of $1.6 million, or 5 cents per share, related to the write-off of certain U.S. metal casting operations. Without that expense, earnings would have been 48 cents per share.

Sales fell nearly 25 percent to $190.9 million from $253 million a year earlier.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters, who typically exclude one-time items, expected a profit of 29 cents per share on revenue of $186.05 million.