Costa Mesa-based Ceradyne Inc.’s diversification strategy seems to be taking hold.
The maker of bullet-proof armor said Tuesday it sees record fourth-quarter sales of $82 million, thanks in part to sales other than to the military.
The sales projection is more than double what Ceradyne reported in the year-ago quarter and up from the $76 million Wall Street analysts had been expecting.
Ceradyne is due to release fourth-quarter results on Feb. 24.
Last year, Ceradyne bought ESK Ceramics, a unit of Germany’s Wacker-Chemie GMBH, for $142 million. The buy was part of an effort to become less reliant on military business.
ESK makes metallic liners that keep bags of chips and other foods fresh. It also makes parts for the auto industry and supplies some of the boron carbide Ceradyne uses for its ceramic products.
The company’s backlog of orders placed but not yet filled hit a record of $200 million as of Dec. 31. A year earlier, it was $104 million.
Body armor for the military made up 63% of the backlog.
“We expect that projected increases in our non-defense advanced technical ceramic products, coupled with a full contribution in 2005 from the company’s acquisition of ESK Ceramics, will result in a somewhat less reliance on defense products,” Chief Executive Joel Moskowitz said.
