Q1 2006 United Industrial Corporation Earnings Conference Call - Final.

Original Source: FD (FAIR DISCLOSURE) WIRE

OPERATOR: Good day everyone and welcome to the United Industrial Corporation's first-quarter 2006 earnings results teleconference. Today's call is being recorded. At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Mr. Jonathan Greenberg, Vice President and General Counsel.

JONATHAN GREENBERG, VP, GENERAL COUNSEL, UNITED INDUSTRIAL CORPORATION: First, I'd like to read this cautionary statement. Information discussed during today's call may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks uncertainties that could cause the Company's actual results or performance to differ materially from those express or implied in such statements. These risk factors are explained in detail in the Company's filings with the SEC which are also available on the Company's web site. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement or to disclose new facts, events or circumstances that may affect the accuracy of any forward-looking statement.

In addition to discussing the Company's financial results that are determined in accordance GAAP on today's call, we may discuss certain non-GAAP financial measures, such as income from continuing operations before special items, EBITDA and free cash flow. Such measurements are not recognized in accordance with GAAP and the Company does not intend for this information to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for GAAP measures. In addition, they are not necessarily comparable to operating earnings performance measures that may be presented by other companies. Additional information concerning the Company's use of non-GAAP measures, including certain reconciliations from non-GAAP reported measures to GAAP reported results, is contained in the Company's earnings release, which is available on the Company's web site at www.unitedindustrial.com. I would like to now turn it over to Fred Strader, President and CEO of United Industrial Corporation.

FRED STRADER, PRESIDENT AND CEO, UNITED INDUSTRIAL CORPORATION: Good morning. Welcome to our review of United Industrial's first quarter results for 2006. You've already heard from our General Counsel, Jonathan Greenberg, and I'm also joined here today by our Chief Financial Officer, Jim Perry.

I will start by recapping financial results for the first quarter of 2006, then I will review key developments and highlights from that quarter. After that, we will open it up for questions. Before I begin, I would like to remind you that results from continuing operations include the results of the Company's Defense and Energy segments only. Results from the Company's remaining Transportation operations are reported as discontinued operations.

For the first quarter, net sales from continuing operations increased 28% to nearly $138 million, compared to net sales of nearly $108 million for the same quarter last year. Net income from continuing operations decreased 30% to $8.9 million, or $0.69 per diluted share. This compares to $12.6 million, or $0.84 per diluted share for the same quarter last year. I would note that results from the first quarter of 2005 included a gain of $4.7 million …