What happened

Aerospace component manufacturer Woodward (WWD 0.51%) delivered quarterly results that easily topped analysts' expectations yesterday after the market close. As of 11:05 a.m. ET, the stock was up 13%.

So what

Woodward designs and manufacturers control systems and components for aircraft engines, industrial engines, and turbines. The company experienced some turbulence at the start of the pandemic, but its latest results show that it is well on its way to a recovery.

Woodward reported second-quarter earnings of $1.01 per share on revenue of $718 million, well ahead of consensus estimates for earnings of $0.72 per share on $650 million in sales. Net sales were up 22% year over year.

"We delivered strong sales growth in the second quarter driven by robust demand for our products and services across aerospace and industrial markets," CEO Chip Blankenship said in a statement. "We also increased output enabled in part by strategic investments made to mitigate supply chain risk, reduce complexity, and increase efficiency."

Aerospace sales were up 17% year over year, and margins improved by 80 basis points. The industrial segment saw sales rise 31% compared to 2021, with margins jumping an impressive 530 basis points.

Now what

Woodward set the bar high for the rest of year, saying it expects to earn between $3.50 and $3.75 per share in fiscal 2023 on revenue between $2.7 billion and $2.8 billion. Analysts had anticipated full-year earnings of $3.18 per share on revenue of $2.6 billion.

Blankenship has only been on the job for about a year, but he did good work streamlining Arconic before coming to Woodward. The company is making strides in getting its complex supply chain under control, and it's benefiting from strong demand for its products.

Prior to the pandemic, Woodward had a deal in place to combine with Hexcel to create a bigger, more diversified supplier. The industry's tailspin due to COVID-19 put an end to those plans and left investors with a lot of uncertainty about what would come next for suppliers like Woodward.

The quarter's results paint a picture of a company that is in good shape to control its destiny from here, and investors are responding by sending the shares higher.