Park Electrochemical Corp. Reports Third Quarter Results

Park Electrochemical Corp. Reports Third Quarter Results

MELVILLE, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Park Electrochemical Corp. (NYSE - PKE) reported net sales of $41,265,000 for the third quarter ended November 25, 2012 compared to net sales of $47,312,000 for the third quarter ended November 27, 2011. Park's net sales for the nine months ended November 25, 2012 were $133,741,000 compared to net sales of $149,578,000 for the nine months ended November 27, 2011.

Park reported net earnings before special items of $5,109,000 for the third quarter ended November 25, 2012 compared to net earnings of $5,379,000 for the third quarter of last year. During the 2013 fiscal year's third quarter, the Company recorded additional pre-tax charges of $559,000 in connection with the closure of its Nelco Technology (Zhuhai FTZ) Ltd. facility located in the Free Trade Zone in Zhuhai, China and its Park Advanced Composite Materials, Inc. facility located in Waterbury, Connecticut. Accordingly, net earnings for the third quarter ended November 25, 2012 were $4,710,000.

For the nine-month period ended November 25, 2012, Park reported net earnings before special items of $15,820,000 compared to net earnings before special items of $19,236,000 for last year's first nine-month period. The current year nine-month period included pre-tax charges of $3,095,000 primarily related to the facility closures mentioned above. The first nine-month period of the prior fiscal year included other pre-tax income of $1,598,000 relating to the settlement of certain lawsuits. Accordingly, net earnings were $12,889,000 for the nine-month period ended November 25, 2012 compared to net earnings of $20,291,000 for the nine-month period ended November 27, 2011.

Park reported basic and diluted earnings per share before special items of $0.25 for the third quarter ended November 25, 2012 compared to basic and diluted earnings per share of $0.26 for last year's third quarter. Basic and diluted earnings per share were $0.23 for the third quarter ended November 25, 2012.

For the nine months ended November 25, 2012, Park reported basic and diluted earnings per share before special items of $0.76 compared to basic and diluted earnings per share before special items of $0.93 for the prior year's first nine months. Basic and diluted earnings per share were $0.62 for the nine months ended November 25, 2012 compared to basic and diluted earnings per share of $0.98 for the prior year's nine months ended November 27, 2011.

Park reported earnings before income taxes and special items of $6,318,000 for the third quarter ended November 25, 2012 compared to earnings before income taxes of $6,193,000 for the third quarter of last year. Park recorded no special items during the 2012 fiscal year third quarter.

The gross profit as a percentage of sales was 30.4% for the third quarter ended November 25, 2012 compared to 27.5% for last year's third quarter. The Company's effective tax rate before special items for the third quarter ended November 25, 2012 was 19.1% compared to 13.1% for the prior year's third quarter.

The Company will conduct a conference call to discuss its financial results at 11:00 a.m. EST today. Forward-looking and other material information may be discussed in this conference call. The conference call dial-in number is (866) 713-8565 in the United States and Canada and (617) 597-5324 in other countries and the required passcode is 53137379.

For those unable to listen to the call live, a conference call replay will be available from approximately 2:00 p.m. EST today through 11:59 p.m. EST on Tuesday, December 25, 2012. The conference call replay can be accessed by dialing (888) 286-8010 in the United States and Canada and (617) 801-6888 in other countries and entering passcode 71097171 or on the Company's web site at www.parkelectro.com/investor/investor.html.

Any additional material financial or statistical data disclosed in the conference call will also be available at the time of the conference call on the Company's web site at www.parkelectro.com/investor/investor.html.

Park believes that an evaluation of its ongoing operations would be difficult if the disclosure of its financial results were limited to accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("GAAP") financial measures, which include special items, such as closure and restructuring charges and the settlement of lawsuits. Accordingly, in addition to disclosing its financial results determined in accordance with GAAP, Park discloses non-GAAP operating results that exclude special items in order to assist its shareholders and other readers in assessing the Company's operating performance, since the Company's on-going, normal business operations do not include such special items. The detailed operating information presented below reconciles the non-GAAP operating results before special items to earnings determined in accordance with GAAP. Such non-GAAP financial measures are provided to supplement the results provided in accordance with GAAP.

Park Electrochemical Corp. is a global advanced materials company which develops and manufactures high-technology digital and RF/microwave printed circuit materials principally for the telecommunications and internet infrastructure and high-end computing markets and advanced composite materials, parts and assemblies for the aerospace markets. Park's core capabilities are in the areas of polymer chemistry formulation and coating technology. The Company's manufacturing facilities are located in Singapore, France, Kansas, Arizona and California. The Company also maintains R&D facilities in Arizona, Kansas and Singapore.

Additional corporate information is available on the Company's web site at www.parkelectro.com