Costa Mesa’s Ceradyne Inc. on Thursday reported fourth-quarter profits that topped what analysts were looking for as revenue fell short of Wall Street expectations.
Ceradyne, one of the largest makers of bulletproof vests and other armor during the height of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, reported an adjusted profit of $9.4 million, topping the $6.2 million expected on average by analysts.
Ceradyne’s fourth-quarter revenue came in at $100 million, shy of the $102.3 million Wall Street was expecting.
Ceradyne shares were up 6.9% at the close of trading Thursday on a market value of about $910 million.
The company didn’t provide first-quarter guidance with its results for the recently ended quarter.
Analysts on average expect net income of $24.4 million and revenue of $118.5 million.
Ceradyne has been working on a long-running diversification after seeing a boom in sales of its military armor during the height of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.
At its peak in 2007, Ceradyne shipped $535 million worth of body armor to soldiers in the field as defense contracts accounted for 74% of its business.
Sales to the defense sector in the fourth quarter accounted for 19% of sales.
Ceradyne Chief Executive Joel Moskowitz in January announced a goal of $1 billion in sales by 2016.
To meet it, the company is downsizing its body armor division and looking to subsidiaries and emerging businesses for growth.
Fourth-quarter sales to the industrial sector accounted for 36% of sales, up 6% from a year ago.
Sales in its energy division, which includes its solar crucible business line, topped $33.2 million, up 14.1% from a year ago. The ceramic crucibles are used to hold melted silicon.
“2010 was a year of transition for Ceradyne, with reduced reliance on defense related sales, offset by strong sales of our high purity fused silica ceramic crucibles used for the manufacture of photovoltaic solar cells, and a dramatic turnaround in our ESK Ceramics, Kempten, Germany operation,” Moskowitz said.
Solar industry sales are a growing part of Ceradyne’s business, accounting for about 15% of yearly sales.
In 2011, they’re expected to make up 25% to 30%, or some $125 million, Moskowitz said in an earlier interview with the Business Journal.
