Moog announced net earnings of $119 million and earnings per share of $2.75, an increase of 18% over last year. Sales for the year of $1.903 billion were up $345 million or 22% over the previous year. Sales increases were very strong in all five of the Company's reporting segments.
Fourth quarter net earnings increased 18% over last year to $31.7 million. Earnings per share for the quarter were 73 cents, 18% higher than last year. Total sales for the quarter of $491 million were up 19%.
In the Aircraft segment, sales for the year were up 15% to $673 million. The sales increase was mostly in military aircraft where revenues were $402 million. The sales increase was driven by accelerating production work on the V-22 Osprey rotorcraft, increased development activity on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and strong military aftermarket sales.
Commercial aircraft sales for the year of $271 million were up 4%. The increase was in sales to business jet manufacturers, principally Gulfstream, Bombardier, and Hawker Beechcraft. The company recently announced that it is supplying the entire flight control system for the new Gulfstream G250. Sales to Boeing Commercial were $76 million for the year, down from last year and the commercial aftermarket revenues came in 6% below last year.
For the fourth quarter, Aircraft sales of $176 million were up 10%. It was a strong quarter in sales on the F-35 and the V-22. The military aftermarket had record sales of $39 million. On the commercial side, the only growth was in business jets as a result of increased production on the Hawker 4000 and the Challenger 300.
In the Space and Defense segment, sales of $253 million were up 37% for the year. Moog's traditional products in this segment are controls for satellites, launch vehicles, and strategic and tactical missiles, and these products provided the solid base of sales. The growth in the year was provided by the Constellation program and two acquisitions. Constellation, which is the Space Shuttle replacement program, generated $24 million in sales in the year. The QuickSet acquisition through its Driver Vision Enhancer program added $33 million in sales of mechanisms for MRAP vehicles. The CSA acquisition came late in the year and added another $6 million in sales.
Fourth quarter Space and Defense sales were $62 million, up 35% from a year ago. In the quarter, the growth was also driven by the Constellation program and the two recent acquisitions.
Moog's Industrial Systems segment had sales for the year of $532 million, a 22% increase. Three markets – motion simulators, metal-forming presses and steel mill equipment led the charge for the fiscal year with growth percentages ranging from 33% to 56%. These three markets provided total sales of $174 million. In addition, plastics controls grew to $77 million. Power generation was up to $50 million.
The fourth quarter was also strong in the Industrial segment. Sales of $136 million were up 23%. Once again, the strongest growth in the quarter was in motion simulators, metal-forming machines and steel mill equipment.
In the Components Group, sales for the year were up in every product category. The total at $341 million was up 20%. Growth in the aircraft market came on the Guardian System, which protects aircraft from shoulder- fired missiles and on the Multi-Spectral Targeting System used on the Predator Unmanned Air Vehicle. Deliveries of slip ring systems continued to be strong for the Abrams Tank, the Bradley Fighting Vehicle, and the Stryker Mobile Gun System. Marine sales of $46 million were up 53%, reflecting increased oil exploration.
Fourth quarter Components Groups sales were $90 million, up 23% from the year previous. Products for military aircraft, space and defense equipment, and the marine market were all particularly strong in the quarter.
For the year, the Medical Devices segment generated sales of $103 million. The total included pump sales of $38 million, sales of administration sets at $35 million and $30 million in sales of sensors, hand pieces and other associated equipment.
For the quarter, sales in Medical Devices of $26 million were up 11% from a year ago. In the quarter, higher sales reflected an increase in administration sets, sensor sales and cataract hand pieces.
Year-end consolidated backlog of $862 million was up $87 million or 11% from a year ago.
The Company updated its guidance for fiscal 2009. Fiscal '09 sales are now forecast in a range of $1.995 billion to $2.035 billion. Net earnings are forecast in the range between $132 million and $136 million. The midrange net earnings of $134 million would generate earnings per share of $3.08, a 12% increase over the $2.75 reported for fiscal '08.
“Fiscal '08 was another great year for our Company,” said R. T. Brady, Chairman and CEO. “This was our fourteenth consecutive year of growth in earnings per share. This year the increase was 18%. We achieved these results while making substantial investments in R&D particularly in our aircraft business. We were helped by big increases in the Constellation program and strong markets for our Industrial products and for the Components Group. The QuickSet acquisition was a big contributor through its Driver Vision Enhancer program. During our third quarter, we expanded our credit availability and we entered the current tight credit market with over $500 million of cash and available credit facilities. We expect to encounter a challenging economic period in fiscal '09, but our product portfolio provides us with a very strong hand to play. Our aerospace and defense business will not be affected and we believe that our medical devices and many of our industrial products will experience very little recessionary impact. We're optimistic that fiscal '09 will be the fifteenth year of growth in earnings per share.”
