LIONVILLE, Pa. (Feb. 25)—West Pharmaceutical Services Inc. reported double-digit gains in sales and earnings during fiscal 2003, a result its CEO calls "truly remarkable" given the horrific accident at the company's Kinston, N.C., plant that killed six workers and forced the firm to alter its production.
The Lionville-based medical parts maker reported net income in 2003 of $31.9 million on sales of $490.7 million, up from earnings of $18.4 million on sales of $419.7 million in 2002. The company also had positive results in the fourth quarter, with net profits of $17.1 million on sales of $126.4 million, compared to earnings of $3.4 million on sales of $107.4 million in the like period of 2002.
West's fourth-quarter results include a pretax gain of $28.7 million related to the insurance settlement from the January 2003 explosion and fire in Kinston. The gain was offset by uninsured legal, investigational and environmental response costs of $1.5 million during the fourth quarter and $11.4 million for the year, the company said.
For 2003, including uninsured costs, West gained a net $17.3 million and its business interruption recovery from the insurance settlement was $9.8 million. The firm believes the insurance proceeds are sufficient to compensate for losses incurred in 2003 and to be incurred in 2004 as a result of production relocated from Kinston, construction of a new facility there and the 2004 return of production to Kinston.
The new 100,000-sq.-ft. Kinston plant is expected to be fully operational by mid-2004.