Yahoo Finance EnPro shares jump on bankruptcy court ruling
EnPro surges as bankruptcy court judge sides with company in mesothelioma liability case
NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of EnPro Industries climbed in aftermarket trading Friday after a bankruptcy court judge confirmed the company won't have to set aside more money to cover mesothelioma claims against one of its subsidiaries.
Judge George Hodges of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of North Carolina said $125 million was enough to cover current and future mesothelioma claims involving Garlock Sealing Technologies. EnPro said in late 2011 that it thought it would need to set aside $270 million to cover those liabilities, but in July it lowered that total to no more than $125 million.
Shares of EnPro Industries Inc. rose $19.79, or 33 percent, to $79 in aftermarket trading. During the regular trading day, the stock gained 4.3 percent to $59.21 and reached an annual high of $61.52.
EnPro is based in Charlotte, N.C. It makes sealing products, bearings, components and service for compressors, diesel and dual-fuel engines and other engineered products for industrial use.
Hodges' ruling involves more than 4,000 claims from mesothelioma patients as well as claims from people who develop the disease in the future. GST filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in June 2010, and the company said it had little to no responsibility for the illnesses of the people who were suing it. Hodges agreed, writing that its products resulted in low levels of exposure to asbestos to a limited number of people. The claimants were seeking more than $1 billion.
Mesothelioma is a rare cancer of the lung lining caused by exposure to airborne asbestos fibers.
