COLMAR, PA -- Dorman Products has announced financial results for the first quarter ended March 28.
 
Excluding the impact of foreign currency exchange and the sale of the company’s Canadian subsidiary, revenues increased 10.6 percent over the prior year. Reported sales increased 7.9 percent to $86.4 million for the three months ended March 28, from $80.1 million last year. The revenue growth was driven by overall strong demand for Dorman products and higher new product sales.

Net income in the first quarter of 2009 was $4.6 million compared to net income of $2.7 million in the same period last year. Diluted earnings per share were up 67 percent in the first quarter of 2009 to 25 cents compared to 15 cents in the same period last year.

For the 13 weeks ended March 28, 2009 and March 29, 2008, gross profit margin was 32.9 percent in 2009 compared to 30.8 percent in the prior year.  The increase is primarily the result of lower charges for excess and obsolete inventory in 2009 and a reduction of $0.8 million in air freight costs over last year. Selling, general and administrative expenses in 2009 increased 4.8 percent to $20.9 million from $20 million in 2008. Interest expense, net, decreased to $0.1 million in 2009 from $0.3 million in 2008 due to lower borrowing levels and interest rates.

Richard Berman, chairman and chief executive officer, said, "We experienced strong demand for our products from a number of customers during the first quarter, which resulted in solid sales growth. The improvement in our order patterns along with recently-reported strong sales growth reported by some of our customers is encouraging. Operating cash flow during the quarter was $8.5 million as several recently-implemented inventory management changes have helped us improve inventory turns. As a result we ended the quarter with just $3.2 million in net debt; putting us in a position to capitalize on growth opportunities that may present themselves in this difficult economic environment. We continue to invest heavily in new product development to ensure that we maintain our leadership position in the aftermarket with innovative new products and solutions for our customers and end users."