General Cable Corp. (NYSE: BGC), Highland Heights, KY,diversified industrial company, reported sales for the first quarter ended April 1, 2011, were $1.44 billion, an increase of 14 percent from the prior-year period. Profit was $38.2 million.
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Volume based on metal pounds sold increased 22 percent in the first quarter of 2011 compared to 2010, and was down 2 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2010.
Operating income in the first quarter of 2011 increased 16 percent or $9.9 million to $73.1 million compared to $63.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2010. According to General Cable, the increase in operating income was due to firming price on a range of products in North America as a result of growing demand in the company’s industrial, specialty and early cycle businesses. In North America, volume as measured in metal pounds sold increased 22 percent in the first quarter of 2011 compared to the first quarter of 2010 and was down 3 percent sequentially when compared to the fourth quarter of 2010.
Excluding transmission products, the company experienced strong demand in most of its other businesses as volume improved 16 percent in the first quarter of 2011 compared to the first quarter of 2010 and was up 10 percent sequentially when compared to the fourth quarter of 2010, primarily as a result of demand for the company’s electrical infrastructure products used in industrial and specialty applications including mining and oil and gas as well as its early cycle products, specifically maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), original equipment manufacturers (OEM) and networking applications.
