RBC Bearings fiscal 4Q profit falls, sales decline

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.

The Oxford, Conn., maker of bearings for industrial and military uses reported 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.

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.

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.

For the full fiscal year, the company earned $34.5 million, or $1.58 per share, down about 14 percent from the company's fiscal 2008 profit of $40.2 million, or $1.84 per share, in fiscal 2008. Excluding one-time items, RBC Bearing's full-year adjusted profit was $40.4 million, compared with $40.8 million in the previous year. Net sales rose 7.6 percent to $355.8 million from $330.6 million.

For fiscal 2010, RBC Bearing Chairman and Chief Executive Michael Hartnett expects the industrial sector to remain soft. However, he said the company's "solid position in the aerospace and defense markets will certainly offset some of this decline."

Shares of RBC Bearings rose $1.19, or nearly 6.6 percent, to $19.14 in morning trading.