Brunswick Technologies, Inc., the US fibre-glass material maker fending off a hostile takeover bid from a unit of French conglomerate Compagnie de Saint-Gobain (CertainTeed), posted a dip in first qua…
Brunswick Technologies, Inc., the US fibre-glass material maker fending off a hostile takeover bid from a unit of French conglomerate Compagnie de Saint-Gobain (CertainTeed), posted a dip in first quarter earnings that resulted in part from shifting production capacity to a new product line. The maker of reinforced materials, such as those used in ballistic armour, posted net income of US$ 268,000, or 5 cents per diluted share, compared with US$ 365,000, or 7 cents, in the same quarter a year ago. Sales rose 6% to US$ 12.1 million from US$ 11.4 million a year earlier. Recently, Brunswick“s board recommended to its shareholders that they reject an US$ 8-a-share cash takeover offer from Saint-Gobain“s CertainTeed unit, a Valley Forge, Pennsylvania-based maker of building products. CertainTeed said it is still pursuing a deal. One of the few publicly traded firms in the sparsely populated New England state of Maine, Brunswick said its earnings were affected by its production and delivery focus on its next-generation “Black Steel” line of carbon reinforcement products, which ate into sales of its conventional glass fabric products. Margins were also hurt by increased raw material costs, the company said.