Pall Corp. primes itself for buying spree

The chief executive of Pall Corp., a maker of high-tech water-filtration and purification systems, told analysts Thursday that the company is gearing up for an aggressive buying spree.

"We are building an acquisition pipeline and expect that we will begin to more consistently acquire about a year from now," said Lawrence Kingsley, who took the helm of the Port Washington company in October 2011.

Last month, the company sold a portion of its blood-filtering business, marking a change in focus. Kingsley said Thursday the company was not planning to sell any more units.

His comments came during a conference call to discuss the company's fourth-quarter earnings, which beat expectations.

That performance followed a lackluster third quarter during which economic woes in Europe and a disruption in the company's supply chain left sales flat. Kingsley said Pall has since corrected the problem and has "executed a strong recovery." Investors sent the stock up 7.96 percent Thursday, to $62.80 a share, its highest price since March.

The company employs about 750 people on Long Island and roughly 11,000 globally. It is among the world's largest manufacturers of filters and is the fifth largest public company on Long Island by revenue.