Autometal Drops Most on Record as Itau Cuts to Hold on Earnings

Autometal SA, the Brazilian unit of Spanish auto-parts maker Cie Automotive SA (CIE), tumbled the most on record as it reported fourth-quarter earnings below analysts’ estimates, causing Itau BBA to cut the stock to hold.

The shares fell 7.8 percent to 20.05 reais at 2:45 p.m. in Sao Paulo. Trading volume was three times the three-month full- day average, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It was the biggest loser on the Bovespa Industrial Sector Index (INDX), which rose 0.3 percent on the day.

Fourth-quarter net income attributable to shareholders was 23.8 million reais ($12 million), the Diadema-based company said today in a statement. The average estimate of six analysts was for an adjusted net profit of 39 million reais, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Itau BBA analysts Renata Faber and Thais Cascello called the results “disappointing” and cut the stock to the equivalent of hold from buy.

The results included a 12.7 million-reais provision related to the company’s deposits in a bank that is under central-bank intervention, as well as a 5 million-reais write-off of inventories in Brazil, according to the Itau BBA report.

To contact the reporter on this story: Julia Leite in New York at jleite3@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: David Papadopoulos at papadopoulos@bloomberg.net