Newell posts profit despite lower sales

Chief Executive Mark Ketchum said in a statement that Newell had won market share in the majority of its businesses despite what he called "a challenging year."

Newell, based in Atlanta, said its gross margins had risen by 7 percentage points, an improvement it attributed to its exit from certain product lines, as well as lower production costs.

The company expects margins to continue improving in 2010, rising by between 0.75 to 1 percentage point, while it anticipates core sales to increase by "low single digits." It also expects profits to rise in 2010.

The company also warned that the devaluation of the Venezuelan bolivar would hurt its bottom line this year, shaving off between 4 cents and 5 cents per share from its full year normalized earnings, or earnings excluding one-time items.

Newell expects to earn between $1.35 and $1.45 per share, including the effects of that devaluation, below the average Wall Street forecast of $1.47 a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

The maker of Sharpie pens and Rubbermaid containers said quarterly net income was $60.6 million, or 20 cents a share, compared with a loss of $256.7 million, or 92 cents a share, a year earlier.

Excluding one time items, the company earned 27 cents a share in the quarter ended December 31, in line with analysts' average forecast.

Net sales fell 2 percent to $1.42 billion, but were above analysts expectations of sales of $1.41 billion.

(Reporting by Phil Wahba; additional reporting Dhanya Skariachan; Editing by Derek Caney)