Third-quarter earnings at Timken fall 11-percent

The company’s stock price fell 8 percent.

CANTON (AP) — The Timken Co., a maker of engineered bearings and alloy and specialty steel products, said Thursday its third-quarter earnings fell 11 percent because of restructuring and other expenses.

It also lowered its earning expectation for the year.

Timken shares fell $3.10, or 8.4 percent, to $33.89 in trading Thursday. The shares have traded between $27.43 and $38.78 over the past year.

Timken earned $41.2 million, or 43 cents per share, in the three months ended Sept. 30, versus $46.5 million, or 49 cents per share, in last year’s third quarter.

Excluding special items, Timken reported a profit of $48.6 million, or 51 cents a share, compared with $54.2 million, or 58 cents a share, a year ago.

Sales rose 6 percent to $1.26 billion in the third quarter from $1.19 billion in the year-ago quarter.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial expected earnings of 63 cents per share for the quarter. Those estimates typically exclude charges.

The company said it now expects to make $2.40 to $2.50 per share this year from continuing operations, down from its previous forecast in July of $2.60 to $2.70 per share. Analysts were looking for profits of $2.68 per share.

For the first nine months of the year, Timken earned $171.1 million, or $1.80 per share, compared with earnings of $187 million, or $1.99 per share, a year ago. Sales were $3.89 billion, versus $3.74 billion in the year-ago period.

During the quarter, Timken realigned operations under two business groups, steel and bearings/power transmission.

It also bought the assets of The Purdy Corp. for $200 million in a deal completed Oct. 22. The acquisition will expand the power-transmission products and capabilities Timken provides to aerospace customers.

Timken is the world’s largest manufacturer of tapered roller bearings and alloy seamless steel tubing. Timken has international operations with about 27,000 employees.