The Economy

Lifted by Commercial-Airplane Market, Goodrich Achieves Record Earnings in 2011

Feb. 5, 2012

Goodrich's sales of original equipment for large commercial airplanes grew by 18%, fueled by increased demand from Airbus and Boeing.

Josh Cable

Goodrich Corp. reported healthy increases in full-year sales and earnings, propelled by surging demand from Boeing and Airbus.

The Charlotte-based aerospace and defense supplier reported full-year net income of $810 million, or $6.33 per diluted share -- the highest in company history -- on sales of nearly $8.1 billion.

That compares with full-year 2010 net income of $579 million, or $4.51 per diluted share, on sales of nearly $7 billion.

Goodrich's sales of original equipment for large commercial airplanes grew by 18%, fueled by increased demand from Airbus and Boeing.

However, the company's overall sales growth of 16% was "very broad-based," Goodrich noted in a news release. The company's commercial-aftermarket sales grew by 15%, while its defense and space sales grew by 10%.

"Propelled by strong sales growth in all of our market channels, we continued to achieve very high levels of segment operating income margin, delivering segment operating income margin of 19.7% for the fourth quarter and 18.5% for the full-year 2011," Goodrich Chairman, CEO and President Marshall Larsen said.

"This impressive margin performance helped us achieve full-year 2011 earnings per diluted share of $6.33, the highest level of EPS in our history."

Goodrich reported fourth-quarter net income of $238 million, or $1.85 per diluted share, on sales of $2.1 billion.

That was up from net income of $148 million, or $1.16 per diluted share, on sales of $1.8 billion in fourth-quarter 2010.

"The increase in net income is attributable primarily to the impact of sales growth in all of the company's major market channels, strong operational performance, ongoing success on continuous-improvement and cost-reduction initiatives, higher favorable changes in estimates for certain long-term contracts and lower pension expense, partially offset by merger-related costs, plant-closure costs and acquisition-related costs," the company explained in a news release.

Larsen noted that Goodrich expects its planned merger with United Technologies Corp. to close mid-year.

"As noted in our proxy, we continue to make progress on the regulatory filings, and our shareholder vote to approve the merger has been scheduled for March 13, 2012," he added.

About the Author

Josh Cable | Former Senior Editor

Former Senior Editor Josh Cable covered innovation issues -- including trends and best practices in R&D, process improvement and product development. He also reported on the best practices of the most successful companies and executives in the world of transportation manufacturing, which encompasses the aerospace, automotive, rail and shipbuilding sectors.

Josh also led the IndustryWeek Manufacturing Hall of Fame, IW’s annual tribute to the most influential executives and thought leaders in U.S. manufacturing history.

Before joining IndustryWeek, Josh was the editor-in-chief of Penton Media’s Government Product News and Government Procurement. He also was an award-winning beat reporter for several small newspapers in Northeast Ohio.

Josh received his BFA in creative writing from Bowling Green University, and continued his professional development through course-work at Ohio University and Cuyahoga Community College.

A lifelong resident of the Buckeye State, Josh currently lives in the Tremont neighborhood of Cleveland. When the weather cooperates, you’ll find him riding his bike to work, exercising his green thumb in the backyard or playing ultimate Frisbee.