Park Electrochemical shares fall after earnings report

Park Electrochemical Corp., a maker of printed circuit materials for the telecommunications market and composite materials for aerospace, Thursday posted lower net sales and earnings for the second quarter ended Aug. 30.

Shares of the Melville company tumbled 10.1 percent to close at $15.94 Thursday. Year to date, the company’s shares after the decline are up 88 cents, or about 5.8 percent.

Park reported net sales of $29.1 million in the second quarter compared to $37.9 million in the year-earlier period.

Net income was $2 million, less than half the $4.6 million posted in the second quarter of 2015. Diluted earnings per share were 10 cents versus 23 cents in the year-earlier quarter.

In a conference call Thursday, chief executive Brian Shore said that penetrating Asian markets for printed circuit materials is difficult.

“The culture is very different and it’s all about making deals,” he said.

Printed circuit materials accounted for 76 percent of net sales in the quarter ended May 31, but Shore said that the company’s future growth will be driven by aerospace composites. “I think that’s reality that needs to be accepted,” he said.

By Ken Schachter

kenneth.schachter@newsday.comkschach

Ken Schachter covers corporate news, including technology and aerospace, and other business topics for Newsday. He has also worked at The Miami Herald and The Jerusalem Post.