Barnes Reports Solid Results

Jason Sandefur

Barnes Group Inc. announced net sales for the third quarter of 2003 rose 13% to $222.2 million, while net income grew 29% to $9 million.

Q3 sales at Barnes Distribution, including fasteners, jumped 44% to $103.8 million. Kar Products, purchased by Barnes Group in February 2003, contributed $30.8 million of quarterly sales. Barnes Distribution tripled its Q3 operating profit to $7.4 million. The improvement was driven the contribution from Kar Products and a higher gross profit margin. Included in Barnes Distribution’s operating profit is an incremental year-over-year gain of $0.9 million from the sale of distribution centers; the gain was essentially offset by approximately $0.8 million of incremental severance expense.

“This was a solid quarter for Barnes Distribution; beyond tripling operating profit, the integration of Kar is running ahead of our original schedule, and our new sales growth initiatives are performing very well,” CEO Edmund Carpenter stated. “As a result of the progress we have made to date, we believe that Kar will be substantially integrated in the United States by the end of the year, and the integration in Canada, which includes the construction of a new distribution center, will be completed in the first half of 2004.”
Carpenter said Barnes Distribution has added more than 50 new national and regional customers in Q3 for a total of 249 new customers added since January 2002.

During the quarter Barnes Group reduced debt by $9 million while increasing cash 23% to $63 million.
For the first nine months of 2003, Barnes Group’s net sales increased 12% to $670.5 million, while net income gained 17% to $26.1 million. Web: barnesgroupinc.com �2003 FastenerNews.com