Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. will announce its first-quarter 2004 financial results before the market opens on Thursday, April 22, 2004.
The company's earnings per share for the first quarter will "exceed expectations," according to Cooper. It cites higher than expected sales, including a strong operating performance by Cooper-Standard Automotive, for the result.
A conference call discussing the financial results will follow at 11 a.m. (EDT). Interested parties can access a Webcast of the conference call at Cooper's investor relations Web page at www.coopertireandrubber.com.
Cooper Tire & Rubber Co.'s stock price dropped 5.7% in the first quarter, from $21.38 at year-end 2003 to $20.15 on March 31.
As of April 8, the stock was trading at $20.59. That compares to a 52-week high and low of $23.36 and $12.90, respectively.
Cooper achieved net income of $28 million on record sales of $967 million during the fourth quarter of 2003.
For fiscal year 2003, Cooper recorded net income of $74 million on net sales of $3.5 billion. Cooper's Tire Group Tire achieved $1.9 billion, or 54%, of total sales, also record.
Cooper is looking at possibly selling its Cooper-Standard Automotive Group unit, which generated revenue of $1.6 billion in 2003.
"We believe that Cooper Tire & Rubber may best be served by dedicating our resources to investing in our tire business and further pursuing global expansion," said Chairman, CEO and President Tom Dattilo.
