Global Fastener News

TransTechnology Sales Up; Profit Down

John Wolz

TransTechnology Corporation reported a $69.2 million loss for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2001. Net sales increased 9.6% to $328.1 million.
TransTechnology report a $2.4 million profit in fiscal 2000.
Net sales for the fourth quarter declined 9% to $86.3 million.
The specialty fasteners segment reported fiscal 2001 growth in sales of 8%, primarily due to the first full year of results from the acquisitions of Ellison retaining ring and Engineered Fasteners division of Eaton Corp. Sales and operating income increases were reported in domestic, German and Brazilian retaining ring operations and the German hose clamp business.
CEO Michael Berthelot described fiscal 2001 as “a terrible year for us. The financial effects of the failure of the UK consolidation to be completed as planned were compounded by the rapid decline in automobile and heavy truck production in the second half of our fiscal year. In our efforts to stay ahead of a continually deteriorating situation, during the course of the fiscal year we reduced our company-wide headcount by 10% from its mid-year peak, while at some units the cut-back ran to over 20%, reduced our inventories by $4.4 million or 7%, and limited our capital expenditures to those that were absolutely necessary.
Berthelot noted that as the auto and truck markets deteriorated “we took a longer, and deeper, look into what their eventual recovery would mean” and “determined that our strategy of growing our fastener business would no longer build shareholder value for a publicly traded small-cap company. As a result, at the end of the fourth quarter, we made the decision to completely divest our fastener businesses and to focus our company�s management and financial resources on our highly successful and profitable aerospace businesses.”
TransTechnology plans divestituture by the end of September and TransTechnology will then be debt free.