Park Electrochemical reports dip in profits

Melville-based Park Electrochemical Corp., a maker of composite parts for aerospace and industry, reports a drop in sales and profit in its most recent quarter.

In pre-market trading Park was down $0.23, about 1 percent, in early trading Tuesday; it closed Monday at $22.63.

For the three-month period ended Aug. 28, the company reports net earnings of $6.6 million on  sales of $50.4 million, compared to earnings of $9.4 million on sales of $54.5 million in the same quarter last year.

The $6.6 million earnings for the recent quarter does not include a special item, pretax income of $1.5 million in a legal settlement, bringing the full net earnings for the quarter to $7.6 million.

The company did not immediately comment on the earnings report.

This is the second quarter in a row with similar results for Park, which had expressed worries last winter about getting enough raw materials from disaster-stricken Japan. Sales and profits lagged for the quarter ending May 29. It reported sales of $51.8 million for its 2012 fiscal year first quarter, compared to sales of $59 million for the year-ago quarter. The company reported net earnings of $7.24 million for the 2012 first quarter, compared to $9.87 million for the first quarter of last year.

Park said in mid-March that it sources a "significant amount" of raw materials from Japan and was preparing for the possibility that the tsunami, earthquake and nuclear disasters there would affect its suppliers.

It has factories in Singapore, China, France, New York, Connecticut, Kansas, Arizona, California and Washington. It also makes high-tech digital and radio frequency and microwave printed circuit materials products.

Founded in 1954, Park, with a market capitalization of $605 million, had $34.7 million net profit on $210.8 million in revenue for its most recent fiscal year.