NEWS
| For: | From: |
| Ladish Co., Inc. | Libby Communications |
| 5481 South Packard Avenue | 95 Pin Pack Road |
| Cudahy, WI 53110 | Ridgefield, CT 06877 |
| Contact: Wayne E. Larsen | Contact: William J. Libby |
| 414-747-2935 | 203-431-8480 |
| 414-747-2890 Fax | 203-431-6132 Fax |
LADISH REPORTS SALES GROWTH OF 27% IN BOTH 3RD QUARTER OF 2005 AND FOR THE FIRST NINE MONTHS OF 2005
Cudahy, WI—Ladish Co., Inc. (www.ladishco.com) (Nasdaq: LDSH) today reported 2005 third quarter sales of $64.8 million, a 27% improvement over $51.1 million of sales in the third quarter of 2004. The Company had a net income of $3.28 million, resulting in diluted earnings per share of $0.23 for the third quarter of 2005 versus net income of $0.82 million and $0.06 per share in the same period of 2004.
First nine months of 2005 sales of $196.5 million also reflect a 27% growth over 2004, with $10.6 million of net income, $0.76 per share, in contrast to $2.6 million of net income, $0.19 per share, in 2004.
Ladish’s third quarter and nine-month results were negatively impacted by $2 million and $1.6 million, respectively, of non-cash stock compensation charges associated with FASB Interpretation No. 44 (“FIN44”). The impact of these changes on third quarter net income was $1.26 million or $0.09 per share and on the nine-month net income was $0.99 million or $0.07 per share.
Ladish will host a conference call on Monday, October 24, 2005 at 9:00 a.m. EDT to discuss the third quarter performance for 2005. The telephone number to call to participate in the conference call is (877) 236-1078.
| For the Three Months Ended September 30 | For the Nine Months Ended September 30 | |||||||||||||
| (Dollars in thousands, except earnings per share) | 2005 | 2004 | 2005 | 2004 | ||||||||||
Net sales | $ | 64,832 | $ | 51,076 | $ | 196,459 | $ | 155,071 | ||||||
| Cost of sales | 54,578 | 46,840 | 169,000 | 142,744 | ||||||||||
| Gross profit | 10,254 | 4,236 | 27,459 | 12,327 | ||||||||||
| SG&A | 4,436 | 2,177 | 8,981 | 6,677 | ||||||||||
| Operating income | 5,818 | 2,059 | 18,478 | 5,650 | ||||||||||
| Interest expense & other | 498 | 457 | 1,407 | 1,579 | ||||||||||
| Pretax income | 5,320 | 1,602 | 17,071 | 4,071 | ||||||||||
| Income taxes | 2,044 | 786 | 6,507 | 1,502 | ||||||||||
| Net income | $ | 3,276 | $ | 816 | $ | 10,564 | $ | 2,569 | ||||||
| Basic earnings per share | $0.24 | $0.06 | $0.77 | $0.19 | ||||||||||
| Basic weighted average shares outstanding | 13,797,349 | 13,479,208 | 13,725,036 | 13,177,655 | ||||||||||
| Diluted earnings per share | $0.23 | $0.06 | $0.76 | $0.19 | ||||||||||
| Diluted weighted average shares outstanding | 13,989,775 | 13,573,969 | 13,883,798 | 13,267,082 | ||||||||||
| more | LCI-05-07 |
NEWS
| (Dollars in thousands) | September 30 2005 | December 31 2004 | ||||||
Cash and cash equivalents | $ 5,761 | $ 2,744 | ||||||
| Accounts receivable, net | 48,297 | 41,729 | ||||||
| Inventories | 68,478 | 51,810 | ||||||
| Net PP&E | 82,650 | 84,500 | ||||||
| Other | 43,358 | 42,604 | ||||||
| Total Assets | $248,544 | $223,387 | ||||||
| Accounts payable | $ 25,094 | $ 24,231 | ||||||
| Accrued liabilities | 7,494 | 7,597 | ||||||
| Senior bank debt | 15,000 | -- | ||||||
| Senior notes | 18,000 | 24,000 | ||||||
| Pensions | 10,269 | 7,366 | ||||||
| Postretirement benefits | 36,150 | 37,769 | ||||||
| Stockholders' equity | 136,537 | 122,424 | ||||||
| Total Liabilities and Equity | $248,544 | $223,387 | ||||||
“The consistent 27% sales growth Ladish experienced in the third quarter is a further indication of the strength of the recovery of the international aerospace industry,” says Kerry L. Woody, Ladish’s President & CEO. “In spite of the non-cash impact of FIN44, our earnings are continuing to grow as the increased sales offer better absorption of fixed costs, an improved product mix and the benefits from cost improvement activities. In the third quarter of 2005, we have been able to leverage all of those factors and increase our gross profit margin to 15.8%.”
“As we near the conclusion of Ladish’s 100th anniversary year, the future aerospace market prospects continue to look favorable,” noted Mr. Woody. “Our contract backlog as of September 30, 2005 is an all time high at $395 million, as it continued to grow with over $83 million of new orders in the third quarter.”
Ladish Co., Inc. is a leading producer of highly engineered, technically advanced components for the jet engine, aerospace and general industrial markets. Ladish is headquartered in Cudahy, Wisconsin with operations in Wisconsin, Oregon and Connecticut. Ladish common stock trades on Nasdaq under the symbol LDSH.
This release includes forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in them. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, uncertainties in the company’s major markets, the impact of competition, the effectiveness of operational changes expected to increase efficiency and productivity, worldwide economic and political conditions and the effect of foreign currency fluctuations.
| # # # # | LCI-05-07 |
