Government decisions made in the Far East and labor problems in South Africa make a difference here for Preformed Line Products, a maker of hardware used to suspend big power lines or bury fiber optic trunk lines. Headquartered here, the company has overseas manufacturing facilities as well as three U.S. factories, though none in Ohio.
View full size This is an example of a power line splice shunt manufactured by Preformed Line Products.MAYFIELD VILLAGE, Ohio -- Global political, economic and labor problems hurt sales and profits in the third quarter and the first nine months of the year at Preformed Line Products Co., an international designer and maker of hardware for overhead and underground power, communications and broadband lines.
The company Friday reported net income of $2.5 million, or 48 cents per share, on net sales of $102.1 million during the three months ending Sept. 30.
That compares to a net income of $6.1 million, or $1.12 per share, on sales of $100.8 million during the third quarter of 2013.
Net income for the nine months of the year was $10.4 million, or $1.92 per share, compared to $17.5 million, or $3.20 per share for the first nine months of 2013.
Net sales for the first nine months of this year were $292 million. Net sales in the first nine months of 2013 were $311.2 million.
Problems were evident even in the first quarter when a hard winter and a sluggish global economy slowed construction.
"Our South Africa operation was hindered by a national steel workers strike causing us to lose weeks of production. Throughout the Asia-Pacific region we are impacted by government turmoil whether it be military rule, inaction due to elections or governments [or] deferral of new power projects," said Rob Ruhlman, chairman and CEO in a written statement accompanying the financial report.
The strong dollar also contributed to problems, as did accounting procedures, he said.
"The continuing weakening of foreign currencies against the U.S. dollar had a negative impact on our outstanding loans to the foreign subsidiaries and we recognized $2.1 million of exchange losses in the quarter and $520,000 on a year-to-date basis on these loans," Ruhlman said.
"However, our international backlog is the strongest it has been in the past two years and we look forward to rebounding when governments loosen their purse strings," he noted.
Big U.S. transmission line projects completed in 2013 also affected the comparison of the two years, according to the company.
Net income for the nine months ended Sept. 30, was $10,373,000, or $1.92 per diluted share, compared to $17,455,000, or $3.20 per diluted share for the comparable period in 2013.Net sales were $292,006,000 for the first nine months of 2014 compared to $311,233,000 in the first nine months of 2013.
Traded on the Nasdaq under the symbol PLPC, the company's share price had fallen $1.08, or 2 percent, to $58.80 per share, just before noon Friday. The stock closed at $51.75, down $2.13, or 3.95 percent.