Pall FY2Q Net Down 19%; Co To Stop Issuing Specific Guidance

Pall Corp.'s (PLL) fiscal second-quarter net income fell 19% on deteriorating market conditions, and the company said it would no longer issue specific sales and earnings guidance.

The filtration and water-purification products maker cited the "turbulent global economic environment" as the reason it was ending its issuance of forecasts.

For the period ended Jan. 31, Pall reported net income of $38.9 million, or 33 cents a share, down from $48 million, or 39 cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding restructuring and other items, earnings fell to 38 cents from 46 cents a share.

Revenue decreased 13% to $543.3 million. Foreign-currency effects reduced revenue by $38 million, or 6%.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had expected per-share earnings of 44 cents on revenue of $581 million.

Gross margin rose to 47.2% from 46.1%

"While the economy deteriorated during our second quarter, Pall is weathering the storm," said Chairman and Chief Executive Eric Krasnoff. "Our market and geographic diversity provides some shelter. Well-established productivity improvement and cost-reduction programs have been advanced to stay ahead of forecasted changes in market demand."

Sales from the company's life-sciences segment dropped 8% to $225 million, while sales from its industrial segment decreased 17% to $318.3 million.

Pall has posted strong results over the past several quarters, amid higher sales and improved margins due to cost-cutting efforts. The company is geographically broad, and Krasnoff has said the company wants to expand the range of its filtration products.

In January, the company boosted its quarterly dividend nearly 12% to 14.5 cents, the fifth consecutive year Pall raised its dividend, running counter to the trend of companies cutting dividends to preserve capital.

Pall shares closed Wednesday up 1.7% at $22.68. The company's stock has lost over a third of its value over the past six months.

-By Adam Edelman and John Kell, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5285; [e-mail]