Standard Motor Products, Inc. , an automotive replacement parts manufacturer and distributor, reported today its consolidated financial results for the three months and for the year ended December 31, 2006.

Consolidated net sales for the fourth quarter of 2006 were $169 million, compared to consolidated net sales of $172.1 million during the comparable quarter in 2005. Losses from continuing operations for the fourth quarter of 2006 were $1.5 million or 8 cents per diluted share, compared to a loss of $5.7 million or 29 cents per diluted share in the fourth quarter of 2005. However, this included a loss of $3.2 million on the divestiture of the European Temperature Control business. Excluding this loss, earnings from continuing operations for the fourth quarter of 2006 were $1.7 million or 9 cents per diluted share.

Consolidated net sales for 2006 were $812 million, compared to consolidated net sales of $830.4 million in 2005. Earnings from continued operations for 2006 were $9.2 million or 50 cents per diluted share, compared to a loss of $1.8 million or 9 cents per diluted share in 2005. Excluding the $3.2 million loss incurred from the European Temperature Control divestiture, earnings from continuing operations would have been $12.4 million or 68 cents per diluted share.

Commenting on the results, Mr. Lawrence Sills, Standard Motor Products' Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said, "Despite the slight drop in sales, which was concentrated in Temperature Control, we were pleased with the earnings improvement in 2006, especially with the continued improvement in Engine Management gross margin. Our Engine Management gross margin was 25.8% in the fourth quarter of 2006, compared with 18.7% in the fourth quarter of 2005. For the full year, the figures were 24.6% in 2006 versus 20.1% in 2005. The increase resulted from continuing operating improvements-increased manufacturing, improved pricing, additional sourcing from low cost areas-plus the fact that the one time costs of the Dana integration are now substantially behind us.

"We continue to work on additional improvements. We previously announced our plans to close our Puerto Rico manufacturing facility, and we recently announced our proposal to close our Long Island City plastic molding operation. The majority of the combined production from both facilities will go to a new operation in Reynosa, Mexico. We estimate one time costs of $9 million, and annual savings, once the moves are complete, of $9 million. We anticipate the moves will occur over the next 18-24 months.

"We are also pleased to announce that we are gaining additional business from original equipment (OE) and original equipment service providers (OES). The new business amounts to approximately $25 million annualized and will begin in the second half of 2007. The OE and OES customers are both domestic and international based, and they will purchase electronics, ignition and temperature control-related product lines."

Standard Motor Products, Inc. will hold a conference call at 11:00 AM, Eastern Time, on Friday, March 9, 2007. The dial in number is 800-909-7113 (domestic) or 785-830-1914 (international). The playback number is 800-688- 7339 (domestic) or 402-220-1347 (international), and the ID # is STANDARD.


Source : http://www.automotive.com (3/9/2007)