Amcol shares slump as net income misses estimates

Amcol International Corp., a specialty minerals company and producer of industrial clay, plunged the most in seven years after the company reported fourth-quarter profit that missed analysts' estimates.

Net income for the period ended Dec. 31 dipped 10 percent to $10.8 million, or 35 cents a share, from $12 million, or 39 cents, a year ago, Arlington Heights-based Amcol said in a statement today.

Analysts Al Kaschalk at Wedbush Morgan Securities and Richard Wesolowski at Sidoti & Co. LLC estimated profit at 40 cents and 44 cents a share in a Bloomberg survey, respectively.

Amcol said a higher tax rate reduced earnings by 8 cents a share, compared with the earlier period. General, selling and administrative expenses increased to $33.4 million from $27.7 million, the company said.

"Costs were higher in the minerals business, which impacted gross margin," Larry Washow, Amcol's chief executive officer, said in the statement. "We also had higher overhead, primarily related to acquisitions and new operations. We expect improvement in several areas in coming months."

Revenue for the period gained 25 percent to $194.6 million, from $155.9 million a year earlier, on acquisitions and favorable foreign-currency exchange, the company said.

Amcol dropped $5.87, or 19 percent, to $25.14 at 4 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading, the biggest decline since December 2000. The stock has fallen 30 percent this year.