RBC Bearings Fiscal 3Q Profit Up

RBC Bearings Fiscal 3Q Profit Up Shares of RBC Bearings Inc. hit a 52-week high Thursday after the ball bearing maker said its fiscal third-quarter profit rose 84 percent on an increase in revenue and lower interest expense. RBC shares rose 99 cents, or 3.2 percent, to $31.89 in heavy afternoon trading on the Nasdaq after peaking at $32.64 earlier in the session. For the quarter ended Dec. 30, RBC earned $9.4 million, or 44 cents per share, compared with $5.1 million, or 29 cents per share, for the same quarter in 2006. Revenue rose 14 percent to $76.5 million from $67.4 million in the year-ago period, while interest expense fell 59 percent to $1.2 million from $3 million. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial had expected a profit of 35 cents per share. The 2006 quarter's results included a pretax gain of $800,000 related to the sale of a building, and $1.2 million in payments under the U.S. Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act.