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IP 4Q profit plunges
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January 22, 2002: 8:23 a.m. ET
International Paper says earnings fall 60% from year-ago period.
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NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - International Paper said Tuesday that fourth-quarter profit plunged 60 percent from the year-earlier quarter, blaming weak economic conditions.
Dow-component IP (IP: Research, Estimates) reported quarterly earnings before special items of $58 million, or 12 cents a share, down from $145 million, or 28 cents a share, a year earlier.
The results include a gain of 5 cents per share from "large land sales." Quarterly sales fell 12.5 percent to $6.3 billion.
On average analysts surveyed by First Call expected the company to earn 3 cents a share on sales of $6.5 billion.
"There is no doubt the company continued to face weak economic conditions during the fourth quarter, but we remain focused on key internal improvements, and we continue to manage our inventories," John Dillon, IP chairman and CEO, said in a statement. "At year-end, our inventory levels were nearly 10 percent lower than a year ago."
"Although we expect a weak first quarter, we do expect to see improvement begin in the second quarter," Dillon added. "While macroeconomic factors will impact results, we expect our performance will improve in 2002." 
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