The global supplier of tooling and engineered components said second quarter performance was the 8th consecutive quarter of year-over-year growth and reflected continued strength across end markets and geographies.

 

“Providing superior value to customers through our game-changing technology, end market diversity and global presence results in our competitive advantage," said chief Carlos M. Cardoso.

 

The company achieved record sales, earnings and return on invested capital. Net income was $US31 million compared to $US28 million in the prior year, up 10 percent.

 

For the first half of fiscal 2006 the company achieved sales of $US1.2 billion, up 6 percent and net income of $US59 million up 16 percent.

 

For fiscal 2006, Kennametal expects organic revenue growth in the 7 to 10 percent range and expects most of its end markets to continue operating at high levels.

 

"We were very pleased with our performance for the second quarter of fiscal 2006, and the outlook for our end markets for the remainder of the year remains positive,” Cardoso said.

 

A major challenge remains sourcing raw material costs, especially tungsten but the company said it was meeting this challenge through disciplined strategic pricing process.