Lexmark International 2Q profit rises 30 percent

Profit rose to $83.7 million, or 89 cents per share, from $64.2 million, or 67 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding a charge of 7 cents per share for restructuring activities, earnings in the most recent quarter would have been 96 cents per share, compared with 65 cents per share in earnings, when excluding 2 cents per share for restructuring costs.

Sales declined nearly 6 percent to $1.14 billion from $1.21 billion a year earlier, hurt partly by a slowdown in the inkjet market, which crimped sales in the company's consumer segment. Sales in the consumer segment slid 21 percent.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial, who typically exclude one-time items from their estimates, expected a 78-cent per share profit and sales of $1.14 billion.

In October, Lexmark said it planned to roll out a restructuring plan, which included job cuts.

On Tuesday, Lexmark said it planned to close an inkjet supplies manufacturing facility in Mexico that will affect 650 jobs by year-end. Lexmark will relocate most of the jobs to a lower-cost country.

Lexmark said the plan will save about $9 million annually starting in 2009, but will cost the company about $24 million before taxes, with $20 million of the costs impacting 2008 results.

"Overall, we have more work to do to continue to implement our strategy and to drive growth in higher usage segments," said Paul J. Curlander, Lexmark chairman and chief executive, in a statement.