RBC Bearings 4Q Profit Down, But Beats Estimates

MIKE OBEL

OXFORD, Conn. (AP) — RBC Bearings Inc. said Wednesday its fiscal fourth-quarter profit fell 46 percent on soft demand for ball bearings from many of its industrial customers but results still beat analyst expectations.

Net income for the three months ended March 28 of $6.5 million, or 30 cents per share, compared with a profit of $12 million, or 55 cents per share, a year earlier.

The latest quarter's profit was hurt by $3.1 million in various one-time charges. Excluding those charges, RBC's adjusted profit was $9.6 million, or 44 cents per share. Analysts, whose estimates typically exclude one-time charges, expected 38 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters.

"RBC is on a roll in terms of cost takeout and positioning for future growth," Barrington Research Associates analyst Walter Liptak said of the results. "Our concern is about the weak economy and what might happen to volumes."

Net sales fell 9 percent to $83.8 million from $92.1 million. A sales decrease of 28 percent in RBC Bearing's industrial business was partly offset by a nearly 7 percent increase in its aerospace and defense segments.