Omnova shares jump as cost cutting delivers higher fiscal 4th-quarter earnings

Omnova shares jump after higher 4Q earnings

NEW YORK — Shares of Omnova Solutions Inc. soared Tuesday, a day after the specialty chemicals maker reported a jump in fiscal fourth-quarter profit, saying cost cutting offset a decline in revenue.

Shares advanced 56 cents, or 9.3 percent, to $6.60 in afternoon trading. The stock has ranged from 61 cents to $8.08 over the past year.

In the three months ended Nov. 30, Omnova earned $11.1 million, or 25 cents per share, up from a profit of $800,000, or 2 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected income of 15 cents per share.

The company said revenue declined 14 percent to $188.8 million because of lower prices.

Cost savings for the full year came to $24 million, helped by a drop in raw materials and manufacturing costs.

For the full fiscal year, earnings totaled $26.2 million, or 61 cents per share, compared with a year-earlier loss of $2.2 million, or 5 cents per share. Sales fell 20 percent to $696.4 million.

Omnova is based in Fairlawn, Ohio.