NEW YORK -- Dover Corp.’s March quarter sales plunged 26% year-over-year as demand for its core products dried up.

The conglomerate, whose businesses run the gamut from fluid management to electronics manufacturing equipment, said first quarter earnings from continuing operations fell 59% to $61.1 million from a year ago. Revenue fell 26% to $1.4 billion, hurt by a decline in core business revenue of 22%.

The firm took pretax restructuring charges of $35.2 million for the quarter. For the quarter, operating margins were slightly more than 10% and free cash flow was $83 million.

In a press release, Dover president and chief executive Robert Livingston said, "Orders, revenue and margins were all down due to significantly lower demand across most of our end-markets, especially in electronics assembly and infrastructure-related markets."

Order trends improved sequentially during the quarter, but Dover is "not expecting a meaningful recovery" in its end-markets for the balance of 2009, he said.

The company will shut 20 facilities this year and cut 4,800 jobs. The company plans to take further pretax restructuring charges of approximately $35 million, primarily in the second quarter.

Dover's electronic technologies segment, which includes DEK, OK International, Everett Charles Technologies, Ovation and other companies, posted double-digit sales and profit declines and an operating loss for the quarter. Electronic assembly is expected to remain weak through the second quarter, the company said.