Baldor Earnings Up 26 Percent

Baldor Electric Co. in Fort Smith announced on April 13 that it had $11.3 million in net earnings for the first quarter of 2006, up 26 percent from the same time period last year, according to a press release.

Earnings increased from 27 cents per diluted share to 34 cents for the first quarter of 2006. Net sales were also up 13 percent to $192.3 million compared to $170.5 million for the first quarter in 2005.

“We talk to our customers every day, and they tell us their business is good and they are optimistic about the future,” Chairman and CEO John McFarland said in the press release. “Our incoming orders were steady throughout the first quarter. This pattern has continued into the first two weeks of April.”

Baldor’s operating margin was up from 10 percent for the first quarter of 2005 to 29 percent this year. McFarland said the increase was mainly due to continued improvements in manufacturing productivity.

Baldor markets, designs, and manufactures industrial electric motors, drives, and generators.