Colfax Posts Slightly Lower 1st-quarter Profit

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Pump and valve manufacturer Colfax Corp. said Friday its first-quarter earnings rose slightly, helped by higher sales. But the company cut its outlook for the year, citing weaker demand amid the global economic crisis.

Net income for the three months ended April 3 increased to $6.9 million, or 16 cents per share, from $6.8 million, or 31 cents per share, for the three months ended March 28, 2008.

Excluding a charge of 5 cents per share for currency exchange fluctuations and other items, income rose to $10.4 million, or 24 cents per share, from $10.1 million, or 23 cents per share, in the year-earlier period.

Sales rose 4.3 percent to $136.3 million from $130.7 million.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters, who typically exclude one-time items from their estimates, expected earnings of 24 cents per share on revenue of $132.1 million.

John Young, Colfax's president and chief executive, said a sizable order backlog helped the quarterly results, with sales driven by particularly strong growth in the commercial marine, oil and gas, power generation and global navy markets.