Carpenter Tech 3Q profit up, but declines on continued basis

WYOMISSING, Pa.—Specialty alloy maker Carpenter Technology Corp. said Tuesday its fiscal third-quarter profit nearly doubled on the sale of its ceramics businesses.

But shares tumbled as the company said profit -- on a continuing operations basis -- dropped 21 percent.

For the three months ended March 31, the company earned $120 million, or $2.49 per share, compared with $66.6 million, or $1.27 per share.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected, on average, $1.17 per share.

On March 31, 2008, Carpenter sold its ceramics businesses and recorded a pretax gain in the quarter of $102.7 million. On a continuing operations basis, the company had fiscal third-quarter profit of $50.8 million, or $1.05 per share, compared with $64.3 million or $1.22 per share in the year-earlier period.

Revenue fell to $509.8 million from $516 million in the year-earlier quarter. Analysts expected revenue of $496 million.

Carpenter cited reduced demand from industrial, automotive and consumer end-use markets as well as higher operating costs that more than offset strong demand in the global energy and aerospace markets.

Shares of the company, which makes stainless steels, titanium alloys and superalloys as well as various engineered products, fell $4.96, or 9.2 percent, to $49 in morning trading.

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