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Cable Design Technologies gets past 1Q forecasts

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Cable Design Technologies beat the Street in its first quarter Wednesday, raking in $16.2 million, or 36 cents a share, on sales of $214.7 million.

First Call Corp. consensus pegged it for a profit of 34 cents a share in the quarter.

Cable Design Technologies (NYSE: CDT) shares closed off 13 cents to $14 ahead of the earnings report, just a few cents above its 52-week low.

The $214.7 million in sales marks a 14 percent improvement from the year-ago quarter when it pocketed $13 million, or 30 cents a share, on sales of $13 million.

However, total sales slipped 5 percent from the prior quarter.

"We are very pleased with our first quarter results and our ability to exceed consensus expectations," said CEO Paul Olson in a prepared release. "This is especially rewarding since we were able to outperform expectations after incurring costs associated with the addition of management for our European and fiber optic operations, the creation of a new fiber optic facility, and an unfavorable foreign currency impact."

In the quarter, its network communications business posted sales of $144.9 million, up 15 percent from the year-ago quarter.

Specialty electronic sales jumped to $69.8 million in the quarter, up 13 percent from the year-ago period.

Sales outside of North America improved 13 percent to $46.2 million due primarily to increased sales of network communication products in Western Europe and the sales of specialty electronic products attributable to the Industria Tecnica Cavi acquisition.

Gross profit margins slipped slightly to 29.9 percent from 30 percent in the year-ago quarter.

Last quarter, CDT topped analysts' estimates, earning $17.4 million, or 39 cents a share, on sales of $227.1 million.

The stock moved as high as $29.75 in August after falling to a 52-week low of $13.63 in December.

Two of the three analysts covering the stock maintain either a "buy" or "strong buy" recommendation.

Analysts are projecting a profit of $1.41 a share in the fiscal year.