ROGERS, Conn. (Feb. 25, 2009)—Rogers Corp. is feeling the economic downturn, reporting an 11.5-percent drop in fourth quarter sales from the $412.7 million figure for the same period in 2007.
Rogers' high-performance foams business had quarterly sales of $26.5 million, down around 12 percent on the $30.1 million figure for the fourth quarter of 2007.
New products should help to bolster this segment while the company waits for inventories to be worked off and normal consumer spending to resume, Rogers said.
Rogers said its polyurethane foam joint ventures with INOAC Corp. in Japan and China experienced weakened demand in both the gaming console and cell phone markets, caused by significant inventory reduction efforts by their customers. Total 2008 joint venture sales were $114.4 million compared to $115 million in 2007.
Fourth quarter revenues were down to $78.6 million compared with $104.5 million for the same period in 2007. Two previously announced one-time events impacted the company's earnings—the sale of the Induflex subsidiary that added $0.20 in tax after earnings per diluted share, and the CalAmp settlement agreement at an after tax cost of $0.43 per diluted share, the company said.