Zoltek Shares Fall on Missed 1Q Profit

However, the company missed its own sales prediction and Wall Street profit expectations because of seasonal plant shutdowns and overstocked customer inventories. Its shares plunged in morning trading.

Zoltek earned $2.6 million or 8 cents per share in the fiscal quarter ended Dec. 31, 2007, compared with a loss of $5.7 million or 22 cents per share in the same quarter a year earlier. Excluding costs related to the issuance of convertible debt, net income for the latest quarter was 14 cents per share.

Sales rose to $40.1 million from $30.3 million.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected profit of 24 cents per share on sales of $44.6 million. Analysts typically exclude one-time items.

Zsolt Rumy, Zoltek's chief executive, said management had expected to match fourth-quarter sales of $43.6 million but results were hampered by customer plant shutdowns in Europe over the holiday season and by customer inventory buildups.

Rumy said he was optimistic that Zoltek can reach its sales objectives for 2008.

Zoltek shares fell $5.70 or 17.5 percent to $26.92 in morning trading. They earlier hit a year low of $26.16 after trading in the last year between $26.51 and $51.77.