R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co. (RRD) swung to a fourth-quarter
profit from a year-earlier quarter stung by higher charges as sales
increased and the company saw improvement in both of its reporting
segments.
President and Chief Executive Thomas J. Quinlan III said that
for the full year, the company "saw a significant increase in the
number of customers purchasing multiple products and services from
us," and he also noted he expects the "positive trends achieved in
2010 to continue throughout 2011."
The biggest commercial printer in the U.S. by market value has
experienced a turnaround in its results lately. Earlier, it
suffered from lagging demand as publishers cut back on print runs
for magazines, catalogs and books.
R.R. Donnelley posted a profit of $27 million, or 13 cents a
share, from a loss of $79.5 million, or 39 cents a share, a year
earlier. Excluding items such as restructuring, impairment and
acquisition-related costs, earnings were 51 cents, up from 46
cents. Revenue increased 4.8% to $2.71 billion.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters most recently forecast a
profit of 46 cents on $2.66 billion in revenue.
Gross margin fell to 23.1% from 23.3% as the company said it saw
continued price pressure and higher pension and other
benefits-related expenses.
Revenue in the U.S., the company's primary focus, rose 5.3% as
earnings rose to $127.3 million from $71.4 million. International
revenue rose 3.5% and the segment swung to a profit.
Shares closed Friday at $19.39 and were inactive premarket. The
stock has fallen 4.7% in the past year.
-By Matt Jarzemsky and Nathan Becker, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2240; matthew.jarzemsky@dowjones.com