B/E Aerospace reports a surge in earnings for the third quarter

WELLINGTON — B/E Aerospace Tuesday reported third quarter profit of $44.5 million, or 49 cents a share, on revenue of $428 million, compared with profit of $31.4 million, or 40 cents a share, on revenue of $288 million for the same period a year ago.

The company, which makes aircraft interior components and aircraft fasteners, cited strong market conditions and lower costs for the improved performance.

CEO Amin J. Khoury said he expects the good times to continue.

“Industry experts expect worldwide air travel to continue to expand over at least the next decade, requiring airlines to retrofit their existing aircraft and add new aircraft to their fleets,” Khoury said. “We believe these market forces will continue to drive demand for our cabin interior products for both retrofit programs and new-buy aircraft for many years to come.”

In fact, B/E increased earnings projections for the year by 12 cents a share to $1.69. It also increased its projection for 2008 to $2.25, for 2009 to $2.80 and for 2010 to $3.50.

For the nine months, profit was $105 million, or $1.21 a share, on revenue of $1.2 billion. That compares with profit of $64 million, or 83 cents a share, on revenue of $807 million.