Questions for Owens Corning

Current estimates for Q4 2007 are for 18 cents a share on $1.3 billion in revenue. 2007 will be a year the entire industry will be glad to see gone. Housing plummeted, there has not been a hurricane in two years and credit conditions are putting a hold on remodeling. That being said, we expect earnings to be terrible. So looking towards the future, let's get answers to the following:

1. What does the earnings profile look like now the St. Gobain deal has closed?
2. How dependent is the company now on US housing? What % of earnings now come from international operations?
3. Have any shares been repurchased yet?
4. Dividend?
5. 2008 outlook and direction for existing units, mainly the composites unit.

Sounds logical, but if the company has managed to shift earnings from almost 70% US housing to 50% or better (lower is better), then a rebound in earnings ought to come in ahead of schedule.

Lowe's (LOW) and Home Depot (HD) both offered depressing guidance and expectation for 2008, if management has accomplished its goal of diversifying its earnings profile sufficiently, the outlook for OC ought to be better...

Disclosure: Long OC.

Comments

[Kris Tuttle:]

It's true. OC is a very interesting long-term play. There could still be some time before it can get clarity on sustainable growth given the housing turmoil but this is more than a cyclical play.

2008 Feb 28 08:15 AM