Wednesday, industrial electrical tools manufacturer Baldor Electric Co. (BEZ) posted a rise in profit for the first quarter from year ago quarter, primarily due to one time gain on modification of debt agreement. Net sales for the quarter, however, declined 14% from the preceding year comparable quarter.
The Fort Smith, Arkansas-based company's net income for the quarter rose to $36.4 million or $0.79 per share from $25.6 million or $0.56 per share in the year ago quarter. The net earnings for the first quarter included a gain of $0.47 per share on debt modification.
Net income excluding a one-time gain from the modification of debt agreement was $14.8 million or $0.32 per share for the first quarter.
On average, analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to earn $0.30 per share on for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
Net sales for the first quarter totaled at $402.5 million, down 14% from $470.5 in the previous year same quarter. Analysts were looking Baldor to report revenues of $426.96 million for the quarter.
Segment wise, sales of industrial motors fell 11% to $272 million, and sales of mechanical power transmission products decreased 21% to $108 million, respectively from the year ago quarter. Due to continued inventories reduction, sales to domestic OEMS were down 15%, and sales to domestic distributors were down 19% from last year quarter.
The company's backlog at the end of the quarter was about $200 million, down from $225 million at the end of fourth quarter 2008.
Looking ahead, the company anticipates second quarter of 2009 to be the most challenging quarter with sales down about 15-20%. The company said in the half of the year, we expect additional benefit from our Bounty Hunt program, introduction of new products, a slower pace of distributor destocking, aggressive cost reductions and plant consolidations.
BEZ is currently trading at $20.82, up $0.97 or 4.89% on a volume of 1.3 million shares on the NYSE.
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