Filtration Industry Analyst
May 2000
Clarcor Inc, USA
Farr Co, USA
Key Figures (US$ million) 1 First quarter ended
Key Figures (US$ million) 1 Fourth quarter ended
26.2.2000
27.2.1999
1.1,2000
2.1,1999
Net Sales
150.7
99.2
Net Sales
29.2
28.9
Cost of Sales
106.4
67.8
Cost of Sales
21.3
21.7
44.3
31.4
Gross Margin
7.9
7.1
Operating Profit
13.5
10.0
Income Before Income Taxes
2.8
2.3
Earnings Before Income Taxes
11.0
9.8
Net Income
1.8
1.6
7.1
6.2
Diluted Earnings per Common Share
US$0.25
US$0.20
Gross Profit
Net Earnings Net Earnings per Common Share
ZZ
US$0.26
Net Sales by Market Segment First quarter ended Engine/Mobile Filtration
>. Z
US$0.29
1.1.2000
2.1.1999
116.5
122.3
Cost of Sales
86.2
91.2
Gross Margin
30.3
31.1
Income Before Income Taxes
11.2
11.0
7.2
7.2
US$0.93
US$0.86
Net Sales
26.2.2000
27.2.1999
59.9
53.6
Industrial/Environmental Filtration
75.0
32.7
Net Income
Packaging
15.8
12.9
Diluted Earnings per Common Share
Exceptper sharedata (basic).
©
Twelve months ended
All of Clarcor Inc's business segments posted good results for the first quarter ended 26 February 2000, and they either met or exceeded budget and the previous year's results. Recent acquisitions also achieved many of the near-term operating goals that the company had originally set when it purchased these businesses six months earlier. For the first quarter ended 26 February 2000 net sales increased by 52%, while operating profit rose by about 34% and net earnings by roughly 14%. These increases include the effect of the acquisition of three filtration companies - Purolator Air Filtration, Facet International and Purolator Facet Inc - during September 1999. Excluding the impact of these acquisitions, net sales rose by a little under 13%, and operating profit increased by around 26%.
6
Exceptper sharedata.
Sales from the company's Engine/Mobile Filtration segment grew by about 12% compared with the first quarter of 1999. Clarcor's main product lines, which comprise a range of filters for heavy-duty and lightduty applications, and those that are used by the railway, recorded higher sales and profits, compared with the equivalent period of 1999. The Industrial/Environmental Filtration segment also had a strong first quarter. Sales grew by 130% while operating profit rose by a massive 273%, including the three acquisitions. Excluding these purchases, sales increased by approximately 10% and operating margins grew from 1.9% to 4.1%. The company's Packaging segment also saw sales grow by approximately 23% in the first quarter. •
During the fourth quarter, Farr Co recorded a modest increase in sales, reflecting an upturn in gas turbine shipments and continued strength in the company's engine products. However, lower fiscal 1999 sales, compared with the previous year reflected disappointing results across the company's custom OEM, railway, HVAC and gas turbine markets, which offset growth in engine and airpollution control products. For the fourth quarter ended 1 January 2000. net income totaled US$1.8 million. on sales of US$29.2 million. For the equivalentperiod of 1999 the company posted net income of US$1.6 million on sales of US$28.9 million. Sales for 1999 amounted to US$116.5 million, down US$5.8 million, or 4.7%. on sales of US$122.3 million for 1998. During the year.
domestic sales decreased by 5.2%, while sales generated by foreign subsidiaries declined 2.9%. The company's foreign subsidiaries' sales figures were unfavourably affected by less than 1% because of changes in foreign exchange rates between 1999 and 1998 which were used to convert foreign currencies into US dollars. Farr's net income for 1999 totaled US$7.2 million. which was roughly the same as the figure it posted for 1998. Excluding he1 nonrecurring income of approximately US$0.5 million, net income for 1999 amounted to US$6.7 million. Continued earnings growth is the major and primary requisite for Farr's success, and increasing sales is key to achieving this goal. Farr believes that it is in a strong position to begin realising sales growth in 2000. •