Gentex Corporation, the Zeeland, Michigan-based manufacturer of automatic-dimming rearview mirrors – and commercial fire protection products – on Thursday said net sales increased 2% from $138.1m in the third quarter of 2005 to a record $141.3m in the third quarter of 2006 while net income fell 13% to $24.3m compared with $27.9m in the third quarter last year.
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Earnings per share were 17 cents in the third quarter of 2006 compared with 18 cents in the third quarter of 2005.
The company also announced said it repurchased approximately 4.0m shares during the third quarter of 2006.
For the first nine months of 2006, net sales increased 6% to a record $422.7m compared with $398.1m in the first nine months of 2005.
Net income decreased 2% to $77.9m compared with $79.9m in the first nine months of 2005. Earnings per share were 52 cents for the first nine months of 2006 compared with 51 cents for the same prior-year period.
“While we did well in a difficult operating environment, we do wish that we could have posted better numbers in the third quarter, and still believe that we have significant new opportunities in the future,” said Gentex chairman CEO Fred Bauer.
“Mirror unit shipments for the third quarter of 2006 increased just slightly compared to the same period in 2005, mostly because of stronger unit shipments to automakers headquartered outside North America that offset domestic production cuts. The stronger unit shipments to automakers headquartered offshore have been camouflaged by those domestic production cuts recently, but as we look to the future and further diversify our customer base in the automotive industry, that will hopefully become less of an issue.”
Bauer added that he does expect the economy and North American auto industry to improve. “We believe that it’s not a question of ‘if’ … it’s a question of ‘when.'”
Automotive revenues increased 3% to $135.1m in the third quarter of 2006 compared with the same period last year, and increased 6% to $404.4m for the first nine months of 2006 compared to the same period last year.
Total auto-dimming mirror unit shipments in the third quarter were approximately 3.2m, an increase of about 1/2 of 1% over the same period last year. Shipments increased 7% to 10.0m for the first nine months of 2006 compared to the first nine months of 2005.
Auto-dimming mirror unit shipments to customers in North America decreased 8% to approximately 1.4m in the third quarter of 2006 compared with the same quarter last year. North American light vehicle production declined by 9% in the third quarter of 2006 compared with the same period in 2005. For the first nine months of 2006, auto-dimming mirror unit shipments to customers in North America increased 3% to approximately 4.6m compared with the same period last year. North American light vehicle production decreased by 1% for the first nine months of 2006 compared with the same period in 2005.
Unit shipments to offshore customers increased 8% to approximately 1.8m in the third quarter of 2006 compared with the same period in 2005. Light vehicle production in Europe was flat in the third quarter of 2006 and increased by 3% for Japan and Korea in that same period, compared with the same prior year periods. For the first nine months of 2006, unit shipments to offshore customers increased by 11% to approximately 5.4m, compared with the same period in 2005. Light vehicle production in Europe increased 2% in the first nine months of 2006 and increased 4% for Japan and Korea in that same period, compared with the same prior year periods.
