Jason Sandefur

SRC=”../images/weblogo2.gif” ALIGN=”LEFT”>Fastener companies reported strong revenue and profit growth in the first quarter of 2005, driven by price increases to recover steel hikes that trimmed margins during 2004.\
Fastener suppliers to the automotive industry continue to be hampered by rising steel prices that automakers are reluctant to accept. While fastener giants like Textron have sued automobile OEMs to force price increases, smaller suppliers continue to bear the burden from increased raw material costs.

TFS Revenue Grows
Textron Fastening Systems reported revenue for the first quarter of 2005 rose 4.8% to $521 million on higher pricing and favorable foreign exchange. Q1 profit dipped $26 million to a loss of $6 million, hampered by higher steel prices and new plant ramp-up costs.
Overall sales for parent company Textron Inc. climbed 19% to 2.79 billion, while net income jumped 240% to $126 million. CEO Lewis Campbell predicted a 12% revenue growth for Textron in 2005 based on the strength of its markets.

Nucor Profit Triples
Nucor Corp. announced net sales for the first quarter of 2005 rose 45% to $3.32 billion, while net income more than tripled to $354.7 million. The average sales price per ton increased 46% compared with the first quarter of 2004. However, the Q1 average sales price per ton dipped 5% from the previous quarter.
Charlotte, NC-based Nucor reported Q1 steel production slipped 3% to 5.1 million tons. Shipments declined 2% to 5.04 million tons.
In February Nucor completed its acquisition of Fort Howard Steel”s operations in Oak Creek, WI, for an undisclosed amount. This facility produces cold finish bar product, with 140,000 tons of annual capacity.

DDI Boosts Anixter Sales
Distribution Dynamics Inc. sales gave parent company Anixter International Inc. an $18.7 million lift during the first quarter of 2005. Anixter reported overall Q1 sales rose 15% to $876.5 million, while operating income increased 36% to $39.6 million.
Anixter acquired bankrupt DDI in June 2004 for about $33 million.
Q1 performance included organic sales growth of 11%, CEO Robert Grubbs noted. North American sales grew 14% to $651 million, while sales to Europe improved 20% to $168.3 million and combined sales in Asia and Latin America gained 8.3% to $57.3 million.
During Q1 Anixter issued $200 million of 5.95% senior unsecured notes, due in 2015, for funds to reduce institutional debt.

PCC Fastener Sales Grow
Precision Castparts Corp. reported its Fastener Products segment saw sales rise 23.8% to $186.8 million during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2005, while operating income more than doubled to $26.5 million. Q4 results include approximately four weeks of activity from the recent $191 million acquisition of Air Industries Corp.
Full-year fastener results for fiscal 2005 include sales of $691.3 million and operating income of $88.3 million. PCC said fastener sales were driven by increased aerospace and automobile market share, along with strong aftermarket demand.
Overall sales for Q4 increased 27% to a record $809.5 million, while operating income totaled $119.7 million.
For fiscal 2005, overall sales soared 52.6% to $2.92 billion. PCC reported a $1.7 million loss for the year.

PennEngineering Sales Increase
PennEngineering & Manufacturing Co. reported sales for the first quarter of 2005 rose $500,000 to $63.8 million, while net income slipped 15% to $4.8 million.
PennEngineering said income was hurt by a $975,000 merger transaction charge. The company has signed an agreement to be purchased for about $330 million in cash by PEM Holding Co., an affiliate of private equity firm Tinicum Capital Partners II. The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2005.

Chicago Rivet Sales Dip
Chicago Rivet & Machine Co. announced sales for the first quarter of 2005 dipped 0.8% to $10.08 million. The company reported a net loss of $76,765, compared with a $290,988 profit during the first quarter of 2004.

Fastener Revenue Rises at TriMas
Fastener sales at TriMas Corp. increased 14.2% to $44.2 million during the first quarter of 2005, boosted by steel hike recoveries from customers. Adjusting for that increase, the company said sales increased about 3.5%. Aerospace fastener sales grew 8.9%, driven by inventory replenishment by customers. Industrial fastener sales improved 18%, adding $4.6 million to segment results. Operating profit from fasteners improved to $800,000 from an operating loss of $1.6 million in the first quarter 2004.
Overall Q1 sales jumped 12.2% to $292.7 million, while operating profit gained 15.4% to $23.3 million.

R&B Sales Increase
R&B Inc. announced sales for the first quarter of 2005 increased 9% to $61.2 million, while net income grew 6% to $3.3 million. The sales gain resulted from increased sales volume from new products.
“Sales growth in the first quarter continued as customer acceptance of our new products remains high,” stated CEO Richard Berman.
Berman said R&B has set a goal of “delivering twice as many new parts in half the time by the end of 2006.”
The company also announced a 2-for-1 stock split during the first quarter.

Fastener Sales Up for B/E Aerospace
Distribution sales, including fasteners, at B/E Aerospace rose 27% to $43 million during the first quarter of 2005, driven by a broad-based increase in demand for aftermarket fasteners and continued market share gains. Operating earnings soared 40% to $8.8 million.
Overall sales grew 12% to $196.5 million, while operating earnings improved 57% to $19.9 million.
“Demand for aerospace fasteners continues to be very robust, driven by & an expanded presence in the European and Asian markets,” stated CEO Robert Khoury. “Our record backlog establishes the foundation for accelerating revenue and earnings growth in 2006, as our strong Airbus A380 backlog begins to deliver.”
The Airbus A380, the world”s largest jetliner, made a successful maiden voyage during a four-hour test flight in France on April 27. The double-decker jumbo jet has a wingspan of 260 feet and will carry more than 800 passengers.
B/E Aerospace expects revenue to grow 10% during 2005, with an operating earnings increase of 45%. �2005 FastenerNews.com