Restructuring Charges Damp RR Donnelley’s Third Quarter
There’s nothing like $131.7 million in restructuring and impairment charges to pull net earnings down. This was the case in printer RR Donnelley’s third quarter, when the company recorded $14.6 million in net earnings, a precipitous drop from the $169.4 million seen in third-quarter 2008.
Granted, a drop in sales from $2.86 billion a year ago to $2.46 billion for the quarter ended Sept. 30 didn’t help, either. But the culprit, according to the company’s earning statement, was a previously announced termination of “a significant long-term customer contract in the business process outsourcing unit.”
Within the company’s U.S. Print and Related Services operations, sales dropped 14.9% to $1.8 billion from third-quarter 2008. The segment racked up operating income of 9% of sales during the most recent quarter, down from 13.4% in third-quarter 2008.
Amid its international operations, sales fell 11.5%, to $638.3 million from third quarter 2008. These figures included a 7% decline due to currency fluctuations. Operating margin decreased to a loss of 11.3% during the most recent quarter from 8.4% a year ago.
