Raven Industries Posts Lower 2Q Profit, Sales

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — Raven Industries Inc., which makes reinforced plastic sheeting and products for precision farming and navigation, said Wednesday its fiscal second-quarter profit declined as revenue fell.

For the three months ended July 31, the company earned $6.2 million, or 34 cents per share, down 9 percent from $6.8 million, or 38 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier.

Revenue fell 18 percent to $56.6 million from $69.3 million.

Analysts, on average, expected profit of 27 cents per share on sales of $55.5 million, according to a poll by Thomson Reuters.

"We were encouraged by our second-quarter performance, but we are still of the mindset that economic conditions will not meaningfully improve until the middle of next year," CEO Ronald M. Moquist said in a statement.

Shares of Raven Industries added 62 cents, or 2.2 percent, to $29.29 in morning trading.