Carlisle Companies Inc. (NYSE:CSL), Charlotte, NC, reported sales from continuing operations of $693.6 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2011, a 27 percent increase from the first quarter of 2010.

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The Carlisle Brake & Friction segment’s acquisition of Hawk contributed $76.2 million in sales in the first quarter of 2011, or 14 percent from the first quarter of 2010. Organic sales increased by 13 percent from the prior year, with sales growth in all segments with the exception of Carlisle FoodService Products.

Income from continuing operations increased 44 percent to $33.3 million. The increase in income was due to the after-tax earnings contribution from the Hawk acquisition, organic sales growth from higher demand in nearly all segments, selling price increases and efficiencies gained through the Carlisle Operating System. Partially offsetting this increase was the negative impact of higher raw material costs.

Carlisle Construction Materials first-quarter sales of $251.3 million increased by 16 percent from the prior-year period. The increase in sales was primarily due to continued growth in demand for the company’s re-roofing applications. Despite the increase in sales, EBIT margin decreased from 8.9 percent in the first quarter 2010 to 7.2 percent for the first quarter 2011 due to higher raw material costs, which were impacted in part by the rise in crude oil prices.

Carlisle Transportation Productsfirst-quarter 2011 sales of $209.1 million increased by 10 percent compared with the prior-year period. CTP experienced higher demand in all its major product lines, particularly from original equipment manufacturers, as well as higher selling prices. Despite significant increases in the cost of key raw materials, EBIT margin increased from 6.1 percent in the first quarter of 2010 to 7.2 percent in the first quarter of 2011 reflecting improved pricing, efficiencies from the Carlisle Operating System and other expense reductions. This segment continues to face increasing costs for its key raw materials such as natural and synthetic rubber for which additional selling price realization may be challenging.

Carlisle Brake & Friction achieved a nearly four-fold increase in first quarter sales from $22.5 million in 2010 to $110.8 million in 2011, of which $76.2 million reflected sales from the Hawk acquisition. Organic sales growth of 52 percent in this segment reflected the continued increase in global demand for off-highway braking applications in the construction and mining markets. Carlisle Interconnect Technologies first-quarter 2011 sales of $65.7 million increased by 6.1 percent from the first quarter 2010. The increase in sales in the first quarter of 2011 primarily reflected continued growth within the aerospace market of 10 percent, offsetting a 6 percent decline in the military defense market. Despite significantly higher raw material costs for copper and silver, EBIT margin increased to 13.5 percent in the first quarter 2011 due to organic sales growth, operating efficiencies from the Carlisle Operating System and savings from plant consolidations completed in 2010.

CarlisleFoodService Products first-quarter sales were relatively level to the prior year at $56.7 million in 2011 while EBIT decreased by 15 percent to $5.5 million 0. Higher revenue from selling price increases enacted at the beginning of the year was offset by lower sales volume from weak demand. EBIT was negatively impacted by higher raw material costs and the decline in sales volume, partially offset by higher selling prices and savings from efficiencies from the Carlisle Operating System.