Sales up, profits fall for Spectrum

MIDDLETON, WIS. — Spectrum Brands Holdings said its earnings fell 45% on higher expenses stemming from the consumer-products company’s recent acquisitions and other one-time items during the fourth quarter. At the same time, the company reported a sales leap of 11%, although its revenue and adjusted profits failed to meet Wall Street expectations. Overall for the fourth quarter, Spectrum Brands reported a profit of $26.6 million, or 44 cents a share, down from $48.1 million, or 90 cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding certain items like acquisitions costs, earnings were an adjusted $1.13 per share up from 98 cents. Revenue increased nearly 11% to $1.31 billion. Excluding currency fluctuations and acquisitions, organic sales grew 2.2%. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected adjusted per-share profit of $1.16 and revenue of $1.33 billion.