Kaman Reports Third Quarter 2006 Results

Kaman Corp. (USA; NASDAQ: KAMN; website) reported fiscal third quarter 2006 results, for the period ended September 29, 2006. Sales in the quarter continued quarter-to-quarter and year-on-year strength, reaching USD $307.6 million from 2005's $278.1 million. Operating reversed the year-ago loss, coming in at $16.2 million from 2005's loss of $4.4 million. Similarly, net income was $8.7 million, a $12.3 million positive swing from 2005's loss of $3.6 million. Kaman is a diversified industrial product manufacturer and distributor. Important market segments are dedicated to military, aerospace and industrial products, including parallel aftermarket replacement product markets. Bearings are produced by the company's Kamatics operation, manufacturing proprietary bearings for aircraft and aerospace applications. It also owns German aircraft bearing manufacturer RWG Frankenjura-Industrie Flugwerklager GmbH, which it acquired in 2001. Manufacturing takes place in Bloomfield, Connecticut and Dachsbach, Germany. Kamatics' proprietary self-lubricating bearings are currently in used in almost every military and commercial aircraft produced in Europe, North America, and South America. They are the leading products for applications requiring sophisticated engineering and specialization in the aircraft bearing market. In the third quarter, the Kamatics / RWG subsidiary marked sales of $26.2 million, up from $22.8 million in 2005 but shy of last quarter's record sales of $27.5 million. Kaman said business conditions and product mix continued to be "favorable for Kamatics and RWG" during third quarter. Sales continued strong in the large commercial jetliner and smaller regional jet markets, the large jet commercial aftermarket, and the OEM commercial jet engine market. As it announced last quarter, Kaman is adding 35,000 square feet of additional bearing manufacturing floorspace to the Bloomfield facility. 25,000 square feet was completed and occupied by mid-October, with the remaining 10,000 square feet scheduled to come online during second quarter 2007. Kaman's Industrial Distribution Segment sells industrial supplies and power transmission products, including bearings and related equipment. Sales there were also strong in the quarter, at $166.7 million from $156.5 million in 2005. Operating income was $8.5 million, up from $5.2 million in 2005. Paul Kuhn, Kaman's Chairman, President and CEO, said: "We are pleased with the performance of Kaman Corporation in the third quarter of 2006. The Aerospace and Industrial Distribution segments both achieved higher levels of sales, operating income and operating margins in the quarter and nine-month periods of 2006 compared to the same periods of 2005."