Q4 2006 FastenTech, Inc. Earnings Conference Call - Final.

Original Source: FD (FAIR DISCLOSURE) WIRE

OPERATOR: Good morning and thank you all for holding. Welcome to the FastenTech fiscal 2006 fourth-quarter earnings conference call. I would like to inform all parties that this call is being recorded at the request of FastenTech. If you have any objections, you may disconnect at this time.

Before beginning today's call, the management and legal counsel for FastenTech have asked me to caution you that certain statements made today may be forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 as amended, and Section 21B of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements other than statements of historical facts made during this call are forward-looking statements, and results could differ materially from those projected in such forward-looking statements.

This conference call also contains time-sensitive information that reflects management's best analysis only as of the date of this live call. FastenTech does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect future events, information, or circumstances that arise after the date of this call. Please refer to the Company's SEC filings and press releases for further information concerning factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements.

In addition, this conference call includes presentation of non-GAAP financial measurements. The Company's earnings press releases and corporate website include detailed reconciliations of the non-GAAP measurements to the comparable GAAP measurements. The Company reminds and cautions you that pro forma results are non-GAAP and are not intended to be a substitute for reported GAAP results. Pro forma results assume that all acquisitions which are noted in the Company's press release occurred as of the beginning of each accounting period.

The Company presents pro forma information because they have completed numerous acquisitions in the last 24 months along, with a significant divestiture and thus, believes that this information might be helpful in analyzing FastenTech's historical and perspective results.

You should have received either a fax or e-mail copy of FastenTech's press release summarizing its fourth-quarter results. If for some reason you did not get a copy or you need to be added to the distribution list, please contact Melodye Demastus at 614-771-8810 and she will handle that for you. The Company's press releases and SEC filings are also available on the Company's website at www.FastenTech.com.

After today's call, Ron Kalich, FastenTech's President and CEO; Mike Elia, FastenTech's Chief Financial Officer; and Mike Vanyo, FastenTech's Corporate Controller, will conduct a Q&A session to answer any questions that you may have.

I will now turn the conference over this morning to this morning's conference leader, Ron Kalich.

RON KALICH, PRESIDENT & CEO, FASTENTECH, INC.: Thank you. Good morning and thanks for joining us this morning. We appreciate your continuing interest in FastenTech. I have on the call with me this morning Mike Elia, our Senior VP and CFO; Mike Vanyo, our VP and Corporate Controller. We will review the results with you for the fiscal 2006 fourth quarter ended September 30, 2006, and then we will take questions.

Reported sales were up nearly 16% in the fourth quarter to $106.1 million which, of course, included the benefit of our recent acquisitions. However, even on a pro forma basis, we reported top-line growth of just under 5%, despite sales from military markets, one of our larger market segments, being off fully 39%. For the year, we achieved reported sales growth of nearly 25% to $409 million, and on a pro forma basis sales were up 3% to just under $412 million.

This performance demonstrates the strength and breadth of our markets and success in fighting the headwinds of a tough year-over-year comparison due to the mentioned decline in the military sales.

For those of you who are new to our quarterly call, sales to the military market are reported within the Aerospace-grade Components segment, and we have experienced a slowdown in military sales as a result of the slower military activity from the heightened levels of 2003 through mid 2005.

Today, military sales represent about 7% of our total pro forma sales compared to about 12.5% just about a year ago. For the fourth quarter, we reported pro forma sales growth of 6.7% in our Specialized Components segment and 2.6% pro forma sales …