Flowserve 4Q Net Up 19% On Margin Gains; Dividend Boosted 8%

   DOW JONES NEWSWIRES 
 

Flowserve Corp.'s (FLS) fourth-quarter net income rose 19% on margins gains as the valve and pumps producer also announced an 8% dividend increase in an environment where record amounts of dividend reductions are being made.

Shares jumped 7.4% in after-hours trading as earnings handily topped expectations. The stock has lost two-thirds of its value the past six months.

Beyond new products, Flowserve has seen increased results for replacement parts. President and Chief Executive Lewis Kling said Wednesday while customers' capital spending will be challenged this year, the company will be able to handle the economic woes. Flowserve also reiterated its 2009 earnings target.

Meanwhile, the company reported fourth-quarter net income of $114.4 million, or $2.03 a share, compared with $95.9 million, or $1.67 a share, a year earlier. Revenue increased 5.4% to $1.17 billion; excluding currency fluctuations the increase would have been double that rate.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters, on average, projected earnings of $1.89 a share on revenue of $1.26 billion.

Gross margin rose to 35.2% from 33% on higher volumes and the company's cost-containment efforts.

Bookings fell 8% to $1.02 billion amid currency impacts as customers delayed orders. It was still the eighth-straight quarter of at least $1 billion in bookings. Flowserve's backlog stood at $2.83 billion at year's end, up 24%.

-By Kevin Kingsbury, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-2136; [e-mail]