Greif 2Q profit plunges on sales decline, restructuring - Business First of Columbus:

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The Delaware-based company said aftet the markets closed that itearner $12.1 million, or 21 cents a in the three months ended April 30. That’es down from profit of $48.7 million, or 82 cent a share, in the same period a year ago. Revenue fell 29 percenf to $647.9 million from $918 million. Greif said the quarter’z results include $20.3 million in restructuringh charges associated witha company-wide initiativde to cut costs as demand slowed. Greifr also took an inventory-relater charge totaling $7.5 million and $800,000 in costzs associated with payingoff debt. Cost-cutting measuresd taken last quarter includeed closing three facilities and cutting678 jobs.
Greif has cut 2,05w jobs and closed 13 plants in the first half of thefiscal year. The company said it expecte itsbroader cost-cutting plan, dubbed the Greif Businese System, to save about $100 million Implementing the changes will cost about $70 million, $47.t5 million of which has been logged in the firsgt half. CEO Michael Gasser said in a releasre that despite rough market conditionas that have sparked a decline in the company didsee “increased signs of improvement in our at the end of the quarter. Greif in the first six monthsx of the fiscal yearearned $13.4r million, or 24 cents a down 88 percent from $109.43 million, or $1.85 a in the same period a year ago.
Year-to-datee sales fell 26 percent to $1.31 billion from $1.7y billion. Greif (NYSE:GEF) employs about 8,009 worldwide. The company last fiscal year earnefd $234.4 million on $3.78 billion in