GFF Added in quantity today. Looked like some panic selling. What will the Clinton Group group do now that its shares have tanked? No surprise that the strategic options GFF were exploring came up empty. A spin off to shareholders of the defense unit seem like a good strategic alternative to me. I'll be willing to hold for awhile here.
UPDATE 1-Griffon Q3 profit down, says strategic options look dim
Mon Aug 6, 2007 9:46AM EDT
Aug 6 (Reuters) - Diversified manufacturer Griffon Corp. (GFF.N: Quote, Profile, Research), which is mulling strategic options for its capital structure and business units, reported a 77 percent drop in quarterly earnings in a slowing housing market.
The company, which hired Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS.N: Quote, Profile, Research) to help to explore options, said because of conditions in the residential housing and credit markets "options are not attractive at this time".
In May, hedge fund Clinton Group threatened to force the company to make strategic changes, which could include a sale or a recapitalization in partnership with a private equity firm.
In the latest third quarter, Griffon posted a profit of $4.4 million, or 14 cents a share, compared with earnings of $19.4 million, or 61 cents a share in the year-ago period.
Wall Street analysts were looking for earnings of 23 cents a share, before items, according to Reuters Estimates.
Net sales fell to $398.7 million, even as it beat analysts' estimate of $380.8 million.
Sales at the company's garage doors and installation services units, which forms about 50 percent of the total revenue, fell primarily due to the slowdown in the new home construction and home resale markets.
Shares were down 4 percent at $15.23 in early morning trade. The stock has lost about 41 percent of its value so far in 2007. (Reporting by Dhanya Ann Thoppil and Deepti Chaudhary in Bangalore)
reuters.com |
