Pall Corp. reports earnings, sales gains

Pall Corp., a manufacturer of filtration and purification systems, reported a 2.2 percent increase in second-quarter sales to $677 million Thursday on the strength in its life sciences business.

Net earnings for the quarter ended Jan. 31 rose 9 percent to $83.7 million, versus $76.8 million in the year-earlier quarter. Diluted earnings per share were 75 cents, compared to 67 cents in the prior year's period.

Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg had predicted the Port Washington-based company would post sales of $677.3 million and diluted earnings per share of 76.7 cents.

Shares of Pall, Long Island's third largest company by stock market value, rose 79 cents, or 0.92 percent, to $86 Thursday.

"We delivered a very solid second quarter, keeping us firmly on track to achieve the plan for the year," Pall chairman and CEO Larry Kingsley said in a conference call.

Excluding the impact of foreign currency exchange, sales climbed 4 percent, the company said.

Pall tightened its pro forma earnings per share guidance for the fiscal year to between $3.35 and $3.45.

Kingsley said that Pall retains substantial cash reserves for acquisitions but is determined to remain disciplined in a "frothy environment."

"We're going to buy what's strategically interesting, but we're not going to do stupid things," he said.

Sales in Pall's life sciences unit for the quarter were $353 million, a 7.3 percent increase, compared to $329 million in the prior year's period.

Though life sciences sales were flat in the Americas and Asia, European sales jumped 15.1 percent.

Revenue from Pall's industrial segment declined 3 percent, to $324 million, from $333 million in the 2013 period.

Pall's goods are used by manufacturers to make a wide range of products, including pharmaceuticals, microelectronics, solar devices and automobiles.