RBC Bearings Inc. (USA; NASDAQ: ROLL) reported first quarter 2008 results, for the period ended June 30, 2007.

Sales in the quarter were $79.8 million, up 6% from 2007's $75.2 million.

Of the $4.6 million, the company said its recent All-Power acquisition accounted for approximately $2 million. The part-quarter impact of other recent acquisitions -- Phoenix Bearings and Coastal Bearing -- along with some organic growth account for the remainder.

RBC said the collapse of the Class 8 truck market put those bearing sales off sharply from last year; but last year's sales had been an anomaly, dramatically inflated by heavy truck buying activity in advance of new engine regulations. While calendar 2006 Class 8 sales were artificially high and calendar 2007 are artificially low, the industry expects Class 8 to regain its normal footing by 2008 and into 2009. All of which will come too late to save RBC's truck-oriented Tyson roller bearing plant in Glasgow, Kentucky.

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RBC's gross margin in the quarter improved to 34.4% of sales, or $27.4 million, from 2006's 31.2% and $23.5 million.

The company said gross margin improved due to a combination of factors -- higher volumes in some lines, the overall sales mix, and the impact of continuing cost reduction efforts. The result was somewhat hurt by plant closing and consolidation costs, as aerospace moved from a leased facility to a newly-built owned facility in Torrington.

Operating income reached $15.8 million, or 19.8% of sales, from $13.5 million in 2007, or 17.9% of sales.

Net income was $9.8 million in 2008, up sharply from 2007's $5.0 million ($7.3 million adjusted non-GAAP).

RBC breaks the business down into four segments.

Roller Bearing had sales in the quarter of $23.6 million, down from $24.2 million.

Plain Bearing sales were $37.7 million, up from $34.0 million.

Ball Bearing reported $13.4 million sales, from $12.2 million last year.

Other was $5.0 million, from last year's $4.8 million.

In other measures, CapEx exceeded D&A in the quarter, at $6.6 million -- primarily due to the new Torrington plant for CapEx and $2.4 million D&A. 2006's result was $2.6 million CapEx to $2.4 million D&A. EPS for basic and diluted shares was $0.46 and $0.45 respectively, with a 515,000 share differential. In the past year, RBC issued 1,289,000 additional shares net, diluting shareholder equity by 6.4%. Through March 2007, RBC repurchased 37,356 shares under a buyback program; the replacement program now in effect is authorized up to $10 million.

RBC's overall order backlog hit $185 million at the end of first quarter 2008, up from $167.5 million at the end of first quarter fiscal 2007. In particular, aerospace & defense book/bill is "excellent" and capacity expansions are planned in order to meet demand for bearings, particularly those with extended relube periods.

Industrial market demand for large bearings was stronger across the board, as supply issues with large-bore industrials continue to be a capacity constraint issue. RBC said in general, the world is simply demanding more large-bore industrial bearings; the recent acquisitions of Coastal Bearing and Phoenix Bearings are designed to address that opportunity. Both bring very large size bearings -- up to 120" bore -- into the industrial program

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Going forward, RBC reiterated targets to grow industrial at 2x GDP, and aircraft / aerospace in "mid teens" percentage-wise. The blend should produce sales growth in the low double digits.

Chairman, President and CEO, Michael Hartnett, said: "We are pleased with our overall performance in the first quarter of fiscal 2008, both in terms of revenue growth and margin expansion. We are particularly excited about our recent acquisitions of Phoenix Bearings and Coastal Bearing Services. These acquisitions, along with our ongoing internal efforts, have allowed us to continue to expand our product portfolio, enabling stronger service offerings to our customers."