Georgia Gulf 4Q Loss Widens on Charges

The Atlanta company, which makes Royal Group brand vinyl-based products, reported a loss of $227.3 million, or $6.62 per share, after posting a loss of $47.2 million, or $1.38 per share, last year.

The latest quarter included charges of $207.8 million, or $6.05 per share, to write down the value of assets at its molding, outdoor building products and chlorovinyls units. The company also took a tax charge of $52.1 million, or $1.52 per share.

Excluding those items, Georgia Gulf earned $19.5 million, or 57 cents per share. That result fell short of the 84 cents per share expected by analysts, according to Thomson Financial.

Sales rose 14 percent to $776.4 million from $681.5 million last year. Georgia Gulf said it boosted sales at each of its units.

For the year, sales rose 33 percent to $3.2 billion, boosted by its acquisition of Royal Group in October 2006. The company swung to a loss of $266 million, or $7.75 per share.