Valassis Comm. shares fall on weak 4th quarter results

LIVONIA (AP) -- Shares of Valassis Communications Inc. fell 6 percent last Thursday after the advertising services company announced lower-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings. The Livonia-based company earned $34.1 million, or 85 cents per share, down less than 1 percent from $34.3 million, or 76 cents per share, in the same quarter last year. Revenue fell 3 percent to $579.4 million from $595.3 million. Analysts, on average, expected a profit of 95 cents per share on $559.8 million in revenue, according to FactSet. Valassis said revenue at its shared mail division fell about 1 percent to $357.3 million, hurt by lower demand for advertising inserts from specialty and discount retailers. Meanwhile, targeted neighborhood revenue tumbled 15 percent to $100.9 million, also as a result of lower demand for newspaper advertising inserts and profitability pressures. For the full year 2012, Valassis earned $119 million, or $2.84 per share, up from $113.4 million, or $2.33 per share, in 2011. Revenue fell to $2.16 billion from $2.24 billion. The company also backed its 2013 profit prediction of $3.50 per share. Analysts expect $3.52 per share. Over the past 52 weeks, the shares have traded between $18.70 and $31.34. Published: Mon, Feb 25, 2013