Columbus McKinnon Corp., Amherst, NY, designer, manufacturer and marketer of material handling products, reported sales of $165.1 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2009 ended Dec. 28, 2008, up 12.9% over the prior-year same period. Profit was down 61.8% to $3.8 million.

Reported quarterly results include the acquisition of Pfaff-silberblau that closed on Oct. 1, 2008. One-time accounting adjustments related to the acquisition, higher material costs, lower sales volume of the higher margin pre-Pfaff businesses, and restructuring charges affected fiscal 2009 third quarter income from operations.

Sales for the first nine months of fiscal 2009 were $470.9 million, up 8.9% compared with the first nine months of fiscal 2008 and up 2.7% excluding the Pfaff acquisition. Profit for the first nine months was $24.1 million, down 16.9%.

CEO Timothy T. Tevens said: “As the sudden downturn in industrial activity around the world has begun to impact our businesses, we have executed a measurable cost reduction plan and are prepared to implement additional actions as we closely monitor business activity. We also implemented our annual price increases in North America and Europe in late November and early January, respectively.  Given economic indicators and our current order activity, we are proceeding cautiously to manage our businesses through this volatile business cycle.”