Martek Biosciences Corp., which sells nutritional oils, ingredients for infant formula and dietary supplements, said Wednesday it slid to a fiscal fourth-quarter loss on higher costs and a hefty restructuring charge.
In November, the company completed the sale of assets at its Winchester, Ky., manufacturing facility, resulting in $30.7 million in restructuring charges. Meanwhile, it also saw a boost in research, development and general costs.
Martek lost $6.2 million, or 18 cents per share, compared with profit of $17.2 million, or 33 cents per share, during the same period a year prior. Excluding restructuring charges, the company said it earned 41 cents per share in the latest period.
Revenue rose 36 percent to $119.1 million from $87.6 million, as nutritional ingredient sales rose 16 percent to $94.5 million and sales of branded consumer health products rose to $23.1 million, helped by the acquisition of Amerifit.
The results topped the average estimates of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, who expected profit of 37 cents per share on revenue of $111.1 million.
For the full year, the company earned $27.9 million, or 83 cents per share, down from $40.6 million, or $1.22 per share, in the prior year. Revenue rose to $450 million from $345.2 million.
Looking ahead, the company expects fiscal 2011 first-quarter earnings of 38 cents to 40 cents per share on revenue between $106 million and $110 million. Analysts, on average, are looking for earnings of 40 cents per share on revenue of $109.4 million.
Martek shares slid $1.10, or 4.6 percent, to $23 in afterhours trading on the news. The stock had closed the regular session up 35 cents at $24.10.
