Gibraltar profits rise 8.5% in 1Q

Gibraltar Industries Inc. reported first-quarter net income of $6.7 million, or 22 cents per share, topping $6.17 million, or 21 cents per share, in comparable period of 2007.

The Buffalo-based manufacturer of building products (NASDAQ: ROCK) had net sales $325.55 million, up 6.9 percent from $304.34 million a year ago.

The results were higher than analysts' expectations of 14 cents per share on revenues of $317.60 million.

Content Continues Below

The results sent shares soaring by 28 percent to $14.15 Thursday afternoon.

"Even though the residential building market continues to operate well below its historic levels, as housing starts have fallen by nearly 60 percent over the last 2-½ years, we expect to see a seasonal increase in activity as we move through the second and third quarters, which are consistently Gibraltar's strongest periods," said Henning Kornbrekke, president and COO.

Gibraltar is sticking to its projected 2008 EPS range of $1.05 - $1.25 per share, compared to $1.03 in 2007. Analysts, on average, forecast EPS of $1.02 per share for 2008.