An employee works at on landing gear at Heroux Devtek in Quebec.
Cuts in U.S. military spending sideswiped fourth-quarter earnings at Canadian plane parts maker Héroux-Devtek Inc..
Longueuil, Que.-based Héroux-Devtek posted net profit from continuing operations of $4.8-million or 15 cents per share in the fourth quarter, down from $5.6-million in the year-earlier period.
Sales in the quarter also slipped, to $73.8-million from $74.8-million.
Sales to the military aerospace market declined 14.4 per cent to $41.6-million as a result of manufacturing inefficiencies and lower military customer demand, the company said.
A "solid increase in sales to the commercial aerospace market was partially offset by lower sales of military products, mainly due to U.S. budgetary restrictions," Heroux-Devtek president and chief executive officer Gilles Labbé said.
Last year, Heroux-Devtek sold its aerostructure and industrial products divisions to Precision Castparts Corp. for proceeds of $234.3-million.
The company is now focused on the manufacture of landing-gear systems.
Bertrand Marotte