Global Fastener News

Black & Decker Fastening Sales Flat

John Wolz

Black & Decker Corp. reported a fourth quarter loss of $13 million, compared with a profit of $52.5 million in the final quarter of 2000.
For the full year 2001 Black & Decker�s net income was down 62% from 2000 to $108 million. Sales for 2001 slipped nearly 5% to $4.3 billion.
Black & Decker also announced it would cut costs by moving some power-tool and hardware operations to Mexico, China and Central Europe from the U.S. and England. Black & Decker expects to reduce manufacturing floor space 25% in the process.
Sales in the Fastening & Assembly Systems segment were “virtually flat for the quarter. Higher sales in the automotive sector, primarily due to the acquisition of the automotive division of Bamal Corporation in North America, were offset by continued weak sales in the industrial sector,” CEO Nolan Archibald said.
“A decline in operating profit for the quarter reflected pricing pressure and inherently lower margins in the distribution business acquired from Bamal,” Archibald added.
For the full year, fastening sales declined 2% and operating profit was down 15%.
Archibald predicted first quarter 2002 sales will be “down from the prior-year level. We anticipate that retailers will remain cautious about their inventory levels and that we will continue to run our plants well below capacity to manage inventory. Web: bdk.com �2002 FastenerNews.com