DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Pall Corp.'s (PLL) fiscal fourth-quarter profit slid 0.6% as the
company cut costs slightly more than sales fell, but the
manufacturer's results topped Wall Street's expectations.
Chief Executive Eric Krasnoff noted that revenue was down from
"a robust 2008" and he called the manufacturing landscape
"generally depressed," particularly in the microelectronics
sector.
Krasnoff said Pall expects the economy to remain weak in the
first half of the new fiscal year, with a slow recovery in the
second half.
The maker of filtration and water-purification products has been
cutting costs, though it is insulated from the weak U.S. economy
because it generates about two-thirds of its revenue outside the
country.
For the quarter ended July 31, Pall reported a profit of $69.5
million, down from $69.9 million a year earlier. Per-share earnings
in the latest quarter were 58 cents, compared with 57 a year
earlier, because the number of outstanding shares shrank 2.2%.
Excluding restructuring and other items, earnings fell to 57
cents a share from 61 cents.
Revenue dropped 9.9%, to $652 million, while expenses declined
10%, to $183.5 million.
Analysts' estimates were for per-share earnings of 52 cents on
revenue of $632 million, according to a poll by Thomson
Reuters.
Gross margin fell to 46.1% from 46.8%.
Sales grew 5.2% in the company's life sciences segment, but fell
8.8% in its industrial segment.
Pall's shares fell 1.1%, to $32.25 in after-hours trading. The
stock has gained about three-quarters from a six-year low in March
but is still down about 15% from a year ago.
-By Kathy Shwiff, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2357;
Kathy.Shwiff@dowjones.com
