Wednesday April 24, 8:19 am ET - Stackpole earnings rise on increased orders
TORONTO, April 24 (Reuters) - Stackpole Ltd. (Toronto:SKD.TO - news) reported on Wednesday strong first-quarter earnings helped by increased orders for powertrain and oil-pump supplies.
Stackpole, which makes automotive powertrain systems and components, said in a release that earnings for the first-quarter ended March 31 were C$3.5 million, or 37 Canadian cents a share, up significantly from earnings of C$370,000, or 4 Canadian cents a share, for the same period a year earlier.
Sales during the quarter were C$59.4 million, up from C$52.2 million for the same period a year earlier.
``Plant downtime by certain customers in January resulted in lower and somewhat sporadic demand for a number of key products and this impacted our first-quarter results,'' Robert Lander, president and chief executive, said in a release. ``In light of these factors, we are very satisfied with the operating performance in the quarter.''
Lander said the outlook for the remainder of the year looks strong as ``healthy vehicle sales and OEM (original equipment manufacturers) production forecasts bode well for a strong balance of 2002.''
Stackpole, which has traded in a 52-week range of C$7.75 and C$19.50 on the Toronto Stock Exchange, last traded at C$16.30 on Tuesday.
($1=$1.57 Canadian)
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