Tesco Warns Of Profit, Sales Miss

Tesco Corp. provided on Monday a fourth-quarter profit outlook that was less than half what analysts were projecting, as the rapid decline in oil prices has impacted drilling activity and reduced its customers' planned capital spending. The oil services company now expects earnings per share, excluding non-recurring charges, of 10 cents to 15 cents, below the FactSet consensus analyst estimate of 31 cents. Tesco also said it doesn't expect sales to increase from the sequential third quarter, while analysts were forecasting an 8.7% rise to $154.2 million. "We will use this market condition as an opportunity to lower our cost structure and streamline our organization," said Chief Executive Fernando Assing. The stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, has lost 31% this year through Friday, compared with a 23% decline in the Market Vectors Oil Services ETF and a 12% rise in the S&P 500.