Rohr Industries: Blaming increased interest expenses related...

Rohr Industries: Blaming increased interest expenses related to financing a buildup of its inventory, the Chula Vista-based manufacturer of aircraft components reported a 4% drop in net income for the third quarter ended April 30.

Rohr’s third-quarter profit, which equaled 46 cents a share, was generally less than what securities analysts had expected. Thomas Lloyd-Butler of Montgomery Securities in San Francisco said he was expecting 53 cents a share, and Patricia Trent of Seidler Amdec in Los Angeles said she was looking for 55 cents a share.

Both Lloyd-Butler and Trent said Rohr earnings suffered from a slowdown in production at McDonnell Douglas, a commercial aircraft manufacturer that uses Rohr components. But Rohr spokesman Dick Dalton said deliveries to McDonnell Douglas have only recently started and the profit decline was more attributable to the higher cost of financing inventory.

Rohr reported an $8.2-million third-quarter profit on sales of $264.3 million, contrasted with a profit of $8.5 million on sales of $231.3 million over the same three months the year before. For the year to date, Rohr’s nine-month profit stands at $25.1 million on sales of $740.4 million, up from a $23.3-million profit on revenue of $653.1 million over the same three quarters the year previous.

Rohr stock closed down $.125 at $30.625 per share in active trading Thursday.