Pall shares drop on 'difficult' 3rd quarter

Shares of Pall Corp., a maker of high-tech purification devices to filter beer, water, blood and a litany of other substances, dropped Wednesday after the Port Washington company said it had a "difficult" third quarter.

Pall's stock fell 4.83 percent to $51.99 in after-hours trading on news that economic woes in Europe and a disruption in the company's supply chain left sales flat during the first three months of the year. Operating profit slipped 10 percent, to $98.4 million.

While Pall's net income climbed 11 percent, to $78.9 million, the earnings got a boost when the company set aside $15.8 million less for income taxes than in the year-earlier quarter. Earnings per diluted share rose 11.6 percent, to 67 cents.

"It was a difficult quarter," said Larry Kingsley, Pall's president and chief executive.

The kink in the supply chain stemmed from technical difficulties as Pall implemented a new software system to manage its planning, purchasing, inventory and other systems. The glitch delayed orders, causing Pall to incur unexpected costs.

The company, founded six decades ago by scientist and inventor David Pall, is among the world's largest manufacturers and distributors of filters. The company has roughly 11,000 employees globally, with an estimated 750 on Long Island.

Last month, Pall announced a $550 million deal to sell some of its blood and transfusion assets to Massachusetts-based Haemonetics Corp. Selling the blood unit marked a shift in strategy under Kingsley. He took over last year to replace the previous chief executive, Eric Krasnoff, who resigned after disclosing an extramarital affair with a subordinate.