CUDAHY, Wis., Feb. 15 - Ladish Co., Inc. (Nasdaq: LDSH) (http://www.ladishco.com) today reported 2005 net income was $13.7 million on sales of $266.8 million. During the fourth quarter of 2005 the Company had income of $0.22 per share in comparison to a $0.09 income per share in the fourth quarter of 2004.
Ladish will host a conference call on Friday, February 17, 2006 at 9:00 a.m. EST to discuss the Company's performance for 2005. The telephone number to call to participate in the conference call is (800) 946-0708.
For the Three Months For the Twelve Months
Ended December 31, Ended December 31,
(Dollars in thousands,
except earnings per share) 2005 2004 2005 2004
Net sales $70,382 $53,636 $266,841 $208,707
Cost of goods 61,807 47,908 230,807 190,652
Gross profit 8,575 5,728 36,034 18,055
SG&A 3,206 3,623 12,187 10,300
Operating income 5,369 2,105 23,847 7,755
Interest expense & other 601 452 2,008 2,031
Pretax income 4,768 1,653 21,839 5,724
Income tax provision 1,617 468 8,124 1,970
Net income $3,151 $1,185 $ 13,715 $3,754
Basic earnings per share $0.23 $0.09 $1.00 $0.28
Basic weighted average
shares outstanding 13,949,392 13,605,843 13,781,586 13,285,582
Diluted earnings per
share $0.22 $0.09 $0.98 $0.28
Diluted weighted average
shares outstanding 14,072,920 13,746,876 13,931,539 13,387,911
December 31,
(Dollars in thousands) 2005 2004
Cash and cash equivalents $14,494 $2,744
Accounts receivable, net 51,497 41,729
Inventory 78,151 51,810
Net PP&E 99,425 84,500
Other 52,462 42,604
Total Assets $296,029 $223,387
Accounts payable $41,665 $24,231
Accrued liabilities 10,213 7,597
Senior bank debt 27,000 --
Senior notes 18,000 24,000
Pensions 46,203 7,366
Postretirement benefits 35,479 37,769
Stockholders' equity 117,469 122,424
Total Liabilities and Equity $296,029 $223,387
"2005 was a milestone year for Ladish. It was gratifying that we could celebrate the company's 100th anniversary in a year that featured sustained profitability, record-breaking order activity and sales backlog, and a strategic foreign acquisition," says Kerry L. Woody, Ladish's President and CEO. "Ladish's $266.8 million of sales in 2005 represented a 28% increase over 2004. Correspondingly, 2005 net income of $13.7 million reflected a 265% improvement over the prior year," noted Mr. Woody. "The sales growth we experienced in 2005 is attributed to the expanding international aerospace market along with a robust demand from our industrial customers."
$70.4 million of sales in the final quarter is another high for Ladish. The growth in sales in the fourth quarter is partially due to the timing of the purchase of ZKM. With a November 17th closing, Ladish recognized approximately $6.2 million of ZKM's sales in the fourth quarter. Fourth quarter net income in 2005 was negatively impacted by higher energy costs. Effective October 1, 2005, the Company elected to adopt Financial Accounting Standard 123R, the new accounting standard for stock options. This action eliminated any further charges or credits to SG&A under the prior standard FIN 44 related to Ladish's fully vested but unexercised stock options.
"We are optimistic about the opportunities available to Ladish in 2006. With a contract backlog of over $450 million, Ladish has the ability to continue to improve its performance through the incremental sales growth. During fiscal 2006 Ladish will begin the process of moving ZKM toward the aerospace arena. We also expect to capitalize on the skills and capacity growth provided by the acquisition of Valley Machining," observed Mr. Woody. "With the known and projected growth in the aerospace markets served by Ladish and our participation in key programs such as the Rolls-Royce Trent family of engines and GE's engine programs, we are excited about Ladish's prospects for both the near and long term."
Ladish Co., Inc. is a leading producer of highly engineered, technically advanced components for the jet engine, aerospace and general industrial markets. Ladish is headquartered in Cudahy, Wisconsin with operations in Wisconsin, Oregon, Connecticut and Poland. Ladish common stock trades on Nasdaq under the symbol LDSH.
This release includes forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in them. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, unanticipated slowdowns in the company's major markets, the impact of competition, the effectiveness of operational changes expected to increase efficiency and productivity, worldwide economic and political conditions and the effect of foreign currency fluctuations.
