O-I Inc, reported a steep decline in the first-quarter profit from the year-ago period, primarily due to lower sales in the challenging market conditions. The company also said it expects second quarter 2009 adjusted net earnings to decline on a year-over-year basis. O-I reported Q1 net earnings of $45.1M ($0.27/share), down from $178.1M or $1.04/share in the corresponding quarter last year. Excluding restructuring & asset impairment charges, adjusted net earnings for the quarter declined to $92.8M ($0.55/ share) from $183.7M ($1.08/share) in the same period/08. Earnings from continuing operations for Q1 decreased to $45.1M ($0.27share) from $174.0M ($1.02/share) in the comparable quarter/08. The company had no gain on sale of discontinued operations for the quarter compared to a gain of $4.1M in the first quarter of fiscal 2008.
