BLOOMFIELD, Conn. , July 31 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Kaman Corp. (Nasdaq: KAMN) today reported financial results for the second quarter and six-month period ended June 27, 2008 .

For the second quarter of 2008, the company reported net earnings from continuing operations of $6.1 million , or $0.24 per share diluted, compared to net earnings from continuing operations of $9.0 million , or $0.36 per share diluted, in the second quarter of 2007. The company's results for the second quarter of 2008 include a non-cash charge of $7.8 million related to goodwill impairment at the company's Aerostructures Wichita facility. The results for the second quarter of 2007 included pretax charges of $2.4 million related to the company's Australia helicopter program. Net sales from continuing operations for the second quarter of 2008 were $316.3 million , an increase of 16.1% over $272.4 million in the second quarter of 2007.

For the first half of 2008, net earnings from continuing operations decreased to $15.0 million , or $0.59 per share diluted, compared to net earnings from continuing operations of $18.1 million , or $0.73 per share diluted in the year ago period. First half results include the goodwill impairment charge of $7.8 million , which is not deductible for tax purposes. Net sales from continuing operations for the 2008 six-month period were $602.1 million , an increase of 11.7% over $538.9 million in the first half of last year. Results for the 2007 first half include pretax charges of $4.9 million related to the company's Australia helicopter program.

The company also announced that the Fuzing segment was renamed Kaman Precision Products to better represent the diversity of its capabilities, effective on July 8th .

Neal J. Keating, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, said, 'During the second quarter we made significant progress in several areas including the strengthening of our Senior Management team through the addition of Greg Steiner as President of our Aerospace Group, completing sizeable acquisitions in both our Aerospace and Industrial Distribution businesses, achieving our production goal of 6,000 JPF fuzes in the quarter and delivering top line growth of over 16%.

Within Aerospace our performance was negatively impacted by weaker results in our Aerostructures and Precision Products businesses. Specifically, while our Wichita facility made progress during the quarter, it did not happen as quickly as we, or our customers, would have liked to have seen. However, we have now completed rebuilding the local management team, invested in additional training for our employees, and upgraded equipment, all of which we believe will result in improving performance in the second half of 2008.

In addition, we completed the acquisition of Brookhouse Holdings Limited, a leading U.K. based aerospace company. This brings us important composites expertise and expands our platform positions in both commercial and military markets. We were also successful in securing significant new and follow-on orders during the period. This included signing of a contract, with a potential value in excess of $100 million , to supply Boeing Integrated Defense Systems on the A-10 re-wing program, as well as additional C-17 orders.'

Segment reports follow:

The Aerostructures segment operating loss for the 2008 second quarter was $6.2 million , compared to operating income of $3.7 million in the 2007 second quarter. The loss for the second quarter includes the goodwill impairment charge at the Wichita facility of $7.8 million . Segment sales were $30.9 million , an increase of more than 30% over sales of $23.3 million in the second quarter of 2007.

The segment's results for the period primarily reflect the goodwill impairment charge and cost growth due to operational issues in Wichita. Sales at the Jacksonville facility increased significantly. In addition, the operating results of Brookhouse Holdings, Limited are included from June 12, 2008 , the date of acquisition.

For the 2008 six-month period, the Aerostructures segment reported net sales of $59.7 million , compared to $48.5 million for the first half of 2007. The segment had an operating loss of $7.3 million in the first half of 2008 (after the $7.8 million goodwill impairment charge), compared to operating income of $8.2 million in the first half of 2007.

The Company also reported that in mid July 2008 , it signed a long-term requirements contract with Boeing for the production of wing control surfaces for the U.S. Air Force's A-10 fleet. This work will be performed at the Aerostructures Jacksonville facility and has a potential contract value in excess of $100 million . The agreement calls for the segment to supply inboard and outboard flaps, slats and deceleron assemblies. The contract will commence in 2008 with initial deliveries to begin in early 2010. Full rate production is expected to begin in 2011 with an average of approximately 47 shipsets per year through 2015. The annual quantities will vary and will be dependent upon the orders Boeing receives from the Air Force.

Precision Products (formerly Fuzing) segment operating income for the second quarter of 2008 was $0.9 million , compared to $4.0 million in the year ago period. Segment sales were $27.2 million for the 2008 second quarter, compared to $24.0 million in the second quarter last year.

Results in the Precision Products segment primarily reflect sales growth as a result of higher shipments on several legacy missile programs and higher JPF program shipments to the U.S. Government. While increased JPF program shipments drove sales growth, the essentially break-even gross margins of these sales limited profitability during the period. In addition, the second quarter of 2007 included profit from two programs that did not recur in the second quarter of 2008. These were the JPF facilitization program, which is essentially complete; and 40mm sales, which product line was sold at the end of 2007.

For the first half of 2008, sales in the Precision Products segment totaled $51.4 million , compared to $42.5 million in the first half of 2007. Segment operating income totaled $2.7 million in the first half of 2008, compared to $6.5 million in the first half of 2007.

Helicopters segment operating income for the second quarter of 2008 was $2.9 million , compared to an operating loss of $0.2 million in the second quarter of 2007, which included a pretax charge of $2.4 million related to the company's Australia helicopter program. Segment sales in the second quarter of 2008 were $18.1 million , compared to $19.0 million in the same period last year.

The improvement in the Helicopters segment results in the 2008 second quarter primarily reflect the absence of a charge for the Australian helicopter program. Sales were lower primarily due to reduced service center sales from the Australia helicopter program.

Helicopter segment sales for the first half of 2008 totaled $32.7 million , compared to $36.5 million in the first half of 2007. For the first half of 2008, the segment generated operating income of $3.7 million , compared to an operating loss of $1.3 million in the year-ago period, which included $4.9 million in pretax charges for the company's Australia helicopter program.

Specialty Bearings segment operating income rose 36.6% to $13.9 million from $10.2 million in the second quarter of last year. Segment sales in the period were a record $36.7 million , compared to $31.5 million in the second quarter of 2007, an increase of 16.5%.

Results in the Specialty Bearings segment primarily reflect continued strong execution, increased demand for the segment's products across all markets, and higher profit margins as a result of the segment's leverage from increased sales volume.

Sales in the Specialty Bearings segment rose 14.7% in the first half of 2008 to $72.7 million from $63.5 million in the first half of 2007. Year to date, the segment has generated operating income of $26.9 million , a 29.6% increase over operating income of $20.8 million in the first half of 2007.

Collectively, the four Aerospace Segments generated operating income of $11.4 million in the second quarter of 2008, compared to operating income of $17.7 million in the second quarter of 2007. Sales for the period rose to $113.0 million from $97.8 million for the same period a year ago. For the first half of 2008, sales for the Aerospace Segments totaled $216.6 million , compared to $190.9 million in 2007, and operating income totaled $26.1 million , compared to $34.3 million in the year ago period. Operating income for the second quarter of 2008 and the first half of 2008 include the $7.8 million goodwill impairment charge.

Commenting on the performance of the Aerospace segments, Mr. Keating said, 'Once again, our Aerospace segments were led by the continued outstanding performance of the Specialty Bearings segment, which turned in another period of record results. Demand continues to be sound and we were able to generate strong sales growth while maintaining a solid backlog. Helicopters experienced a solid quarter with our Sikorsky business up and the remarketing effort on the Australian helicopters taking shape. We believe we have also made significant progress towards resolving the production issues associated with the JPF, as evidenced by our quarterly production rate reaching 6,000 fuzes during the period. We continue to pursue sales of the JPF to foreign militaries, and could see progress on this front in the second half of the year.'

Industrial Distribution segment operating income for the second quarter of 2008 was $9.7 million , an increase of 17.2% over operating income of $8.3 million in the second quarter of 2007. Segment sales increased 16.5% in the 2008 second quarter to $203.3 million from $174.6 million a year ago. Organic sales growth in the quarter was 8.4%, compared with 2.4% in the prior year period, with the remaining growth coming from the acquisition of Industrial Supply Corporation (ISC) on March 31, 2008 .

The Industrial Distribution segment's results for the 2008 second quarter primarily reflect the continued success of the company's efforts to further develop its national accounts business, robust demand within the energy and power generation, mining and oil exploration markets as well as the contribution from ISC, which was acquired at the beginning of the 2008 second quarter. Operating profits in the period improved as a result of higher sales volumes and a continued focus on careful cost management, which was offset somewhat by cost growth associated with new branch openings, as the segment continues to expand its operations in order to support its growing national account business. Overall, the operating profit margin for the quarter was 4.8%, consistent with the prior year despite higher energy costs and the integration of ISC, which both had the effect of dampening Industrial Distribution's overall operating profit margin slightly for the quarter.

For the 2008 six-month period, net sales in the Industrial Distribution segment totaled $385.5 million , compared with $348.0 million in the year ago period. Segment operating income in the first half of 2008 totaled $18.8 million , compared to $17.0 million in the first half of 2007. Organic growth for the first half of 2008 was 6.7%, compared with 2.0% in the same period last year.

Commenting on the performance of the Industrial Distribution segment, Mr. Keating said, 'We are very pleased with the performance of the Industrial Distribution segment during the second quarter, during which it gained market share and posted solid organic growth despite a challenging market environment. The business continued to benefit from strong demand in end markets such as mining and food processing, as well as the ongoing successful execution of its national account strategy. The integration of ISC has progressed well, and the segment also benefitted from solid sales performance from this business during the period. Looking into the second half of the year, overall market conditions remain challenging and the segment faces tougher year-over-year comparisons, but we remain committed to the continued successful execution of our operating strategy as we focus on the further build-out of our national account program and maintaining strict operating expense controls.'

Mr. Keating concluded, 'Despite the challenges we have faced in the first half of 2008 I believe we have made substantial progress in growing our business through a mix of organic growth and strategic acquisitions that complement our existing businesses. As we move into the second half of the year, we are focused on resolving the issues in our Aerostructures segment and continuing to build on the results that our other segments have achieved. At the same time we continue to operate from a position of financial strength, providing us the opportunity to continue to invest for future growth and improved profitability.'

Please see the MD&A section of the company's SEC Form 10-Q filed concurrent with the issuance of this release for greater detail on the quarter's results and various company programs.

A conference call has been scheduled for tomorrow, August 1, 2008 at 11:00 AM EDT . Listeners may access the call live over the Internet through a link on the home page of the company's website at http://www.kaman.com. In its discussion, management may include certain non-GAAP measures related to company performance. If so, a reconciliation of that information to GAAP will be provided in the exhibits to the conference call and will be available through the Internet link provided above.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release may contain forward-looking information relating to the company's business and prospects, including the Aerospace and Industrial Distribution businesses, operating cash flow, and other matters that involve a number of uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from expectations. Those uncertainties include, but are not limited to: 1) the successful conclusion of competitions for government programs and thereafter contract negotiations with government authorities, both foreign and domestic; 2) political conditions in countries where the company does or intends to do business; 3) standard government contract provisions permitting renegotiation of terms and termination for the convenience of the government; 4) domestic and foreign economic and competitive conditions in markets served by the company, particularly the defense, commercial aviation and industrial production markets; 5) risks associated with successful implementation and ramp up of significant new programs; 6) management's success in resolving operational issues at the Aerostructures Wichita facility; 7) successful implementation of the Deed of Settlement agreed upon with the Commonwealth of Australia , which would conclude the Australia SH-2G (A) program with a mutual release of claims; 8) receipt and successful execution of production orders for the JPF U.S. government contract, including the exercise of all contract options, successful negotiation of price increases with the U.S. government, and receipt of orders from allied militaries, as all have been assumed in connection with goodwill impairment evaluations; 9) satisfactory resolution of the company's contract dispute with the U.S. Army procurement agency relating to the FMU-143 program; 10) continued support of the existing K-MAX helicopter fleet, including sale of existing K-MAX spare parts inventory; 11) cost growth in connection with environmental remediation activities at the Bloomfield , Moosup and New Hartford, CT facilities; 12) profitable integration of acquired businesses into the company's operations; 13) changes in supplier sales or vendor incentive policies; 14) the effect of price increases or decreases; 15) pension plan assumptions and future contributions; 16) future levels of indebtedness and capital expenditures; 17) continued availability of raw materials and other commodities in adequate supplies and the effect of increased costs therefore; 18) the effects of currency exchange rates and foreign competition on future operations; 19) changes in laws and regulations, taxes, interest rates, inflation rates, general business conditions and other factors; and 20) other risks and uncertainties set forth in the company's annual, quarterly and current reports, and proxy statements. Any forward- looking information provided in this report should be considered with these factors in mind. The company assumes no obligation to update any forward- looking statements contained in this report.



    A summary of segment information follows:

                        Summary of Segment Information


                                      For the Three Months For the Six Months
                                             Ended               Ended
                                       June 27,  June 29,  June 27,  June 29,
                                         2008      2007      2008      2007
    Net sales:
        Aerostructures                  $30,944   $23,322   $59,737   $48,501
        Precision Products               27,236    23,962    51,366    42,462
        Helicopters                      18,105    19,025    32,719    36,483
        Specialty Bearings               36,667    31,471    72,746    63,450
          Subtotal Aerospace Segments   112,952    97,780   216,568   190,896
        Industrial Distribution         203,333   174,602   385,498   348,016
    Net sales from continuing
     operations                        $316,285  $272,382  $602,066  $538,912

    Operating income (loss):
        Aerostructures                  $(6,248)   $3,680   $(7,263)   $8,231
        Precision Products                  880     4,015     2,685     6,545
        Helicopters                       2,866      (244)    3,724    (1,269)
        Specialty Bearings               13,941    10,204    26,909    20,763
          Subtotal Aerospace Segments    11,439    17,655    26,055    34,270
        Industrial Distribution           9,735     8,304    18,808    16,998
        Net gain (loss) on sale of
         assets                             (97)       58      (207)       15
        Corporate expense (1)            (6,486)  (10,156)  (16,282)  (19,499)
    Operating income from continuing
     operations                         $14,591   $15,861   $28,374   $31,784

(1) 'Corporate expense' decreased for the quarter and six months ended June 27, 2008 compared to the same periods of 2007, as shown below:


                                      For the Three Months For the Six Months
                                             Ended               Ended

                                        June 27,  June 29,  June 27,  June 29,
                                          2008      2007      2008      2007

    Corporate expenses before breakout
     items                              $(5,788)  $(6,075) $(12,361) $(11,876)

    Breakout items:
      Incentive compensation                 39    (1,035)   (1,187)   (1,620)
      Stock appreciation rights             308      (815)      836      (985)
      Supplemental employees'
       retirement plan                     (888)   (1,482)   (2,870)   (3,007)
      Group insurance                      (157)     (749)     (700)   (2,011)

    Corporate expense - total           $(6,486) $(10,156) $(16,282) $(19,499)



                      KAMAN CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES
               Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations
                   (In thousands except per share amounts)

                                      For the Three Months For the Six Months
                                             Ended               Ended
                                       June 27,  June 29,  June 27,  June 29,
                                         2008      2007      2008      2007

    Net sales                          $316,285  $272,382  $602,066  $538,912

    Cost of sales                       230,013   197,798   439,203   389,167
    Selling, general and
     administrative expense              63,774    58,781   126,472   117,976
    Goodwill impairment                   7,810         -     7,810         -
    Net (gain)/loss on sale of assets        97       (58)      207       (15)
                                        301,694   256,521   573,692   507,128
    Operating income from continuing
     operations                          14,591    15,861    28,374    31,784

    Interest expense (income), net          463     1,656       462     3,200
    Other expense (income), net             321       258       462       217

    Earnings from cont. operations
     before income taxes                 13,807    13,947    27,450    28,367
    Income tax expense                   (7,717)   (4,940)  (12,492)  (10,287)
    Net earnings from continuing
     operations                           6,090     9,007    14,958    18,080

    Earnings from discont. operations
     before inc. taxes                      -       1,655       -       3,279
    Gain on disposal of discontinued
     operations                             506         -       506         -
    Income tax expense                     (183)     (603)     (183)   (1,225)
    Net earnings from discontinued
     operations                             323     1,052       323     2,054

    Net earnings                         $6,413   $10,059   $15,281   $20,134

    Net earnings per share:
      Basic net EPS from continuing
       operations                          0.24      0.37      0.60      0.74
      Basic net EPS from discontinued
       operations                           -        0.04       -        0.09
      Basic net EPS from disposal of
       discont. op.                        0.01       -        0.01       -
      Basic net earnings per share        $0.25     $0.41     $0.61     $0.83

      Diluted net EPS from continuing
       operations                          0.24      0.36      0.59      0.73
      Diluted net EPS from
       discontinued operations              -        0.04       -        0.08
      Diluted net EPS from disposal of
       discont. op.                        0.01       -        0.01       -
      Diluted net earnings per share      $0.25     $0.40     $0.60     $0.81

    Average shares outstanding:
      Basic                              25,232    24,285    25,166    24,213
      Diluted                            25,497    25,210    25,444    25,157

    Dividends declared per share         $0.140    $0.125    $0.280    $0.250



                      KAMAN CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES
                    Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets
                                (In thousands)

                                              June 27, 2008  December 31, 2007
    Assets
    Current assets:
          Cash and cash equivalents                $13,570         $73,898
          Accounts receivable, net                 211,577         158,435
          Inventories                              239,353         210,341
          Deferred income taxes                     24,460          28,724
          Other current assets                      24,703          20,231
                Total current assets               513,663         491,629
    Property, plant and equipment, net              67,500          53,645
    Goodwill and other intangible assets,
     net                                           130,292          46,188
    Deferred income taxes                            3,507           3,594
    Overfunded pension                              31,276          30,486
    Other assets                                    11,561           9,321
                                                  $757,799        $634,863
    Liabilities and shareholders' equity
    Current liabilities:
          Notes payable                             $1,896          $1,680
          Accounts payable - trade                  98,914          74,236
          Accrued salaries and wages                22,046          25,328
          Accrued pension costs                     13,768          14,202
          Accrued contract losses                   10,780           9,513
          Advances on contracts                     10,429           9,508
          Other accruals and payables               39,360          36,162
          Income taxes payable                       2,447          12,002
                Total current liabilities          199,640         182,631
    Long-term debt, excluding current
     portion                                        95,400          11,194
    Deferred income taxes, long-term                10,825             199
    Other long-term liabilities                     42,428          46,313
    Shareholders' equity                           409,506         394,526
                                                  $757,799        $634,863

SOURCE Kaman Corp.