Valassis posts 4Q profit, revenue falls as direct mail business weakens

Valassis posts 4Q profit, revenue falls

LIVONIA, Mich. — Valassis Communications on Monday said it returned to a fourth-quarter profit, but shares in the direct mail company tumbled because the performance fell short of Wall Street expectations.

Last year, the company was hit with a $245.7 million charge as it was forced to writedown a number of assets.

And revenues during the most recent quarter slid 3.4 percent, which caught analysts off guard. .

The company earned $24 million, or 48 cents per share, compared with a loss of $222 million, or $4.63 per share, in the same quarter in 2008.

Without the impairment charge, the 2008 quarter would have earned $1.4 million, or 3 cents per share.

Revenue fell to $605 million from $626.2 million. Results fell below the expectation of analysts, who had forecast earnings of 53 cents per share on revenue of $615.1 million, according to Thomson Reuters.

For the year, Valassis earned $66.8 million, or $1.36 per share, compared with a loss of $209.7 million, or $4.37 per share.

Looking ahead, the company expects to earn $2.48 per share for 2010. Analysts were expecting $1.80 per share in earnings.

Shares of Valassis Communications Inc., based in Livonia, Mich., fell $1.24, or 4.7 percent, to $25.30 in morning trading.