PEMBROKE, BERMUDA - Tyco Electronics Ltd. said its fourth-quarter earnings were $256 million, down 31% year-over-year on restructuring and separation costs.

The company said it took $59 million in restructuring charges, compared with $5 million in the fourth quarter last year.

Tyco Electronics also reported a $20 million charge related to the separation from Tyco International.

Revenue rose 11% to $3.62 billion compared to the same period last year. The company attributed its revenue gain to growth in international markets.

For the fiscal year, Tyco Electronics posted a loss of $554 million, compared with a year-ago profit of $1.19 billion.

Revenue for the full year increased 9% to $13.46 billion, the company said.

SAN JOSE, CA – North American-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $1.23 billion in orders in October and a book-to-bill ratio of 0.83, according to SEMI.

SANTA CLARA, CA – Agilent Technologies Inc. reported revenues for the fourth quarter were $1.45 billion, 9% above the same period last year.

The company said orders were $1.48 billion for the quarter, an increase of 6% year-over-year.

Agilent reported fourth-quarter adjusted net income of $206 million, up 7.8% year-over-year.

“Electronic measurement markets were very mixed, with strength in aerospace/defense and wireless R&D, a flat profile for wireless handset and electronic manufacturing test, and weakness in computer and semiconductor markets,” Bill Sullivan, president and CEO said.

2007 revenues were $5.4 billion, up 9% year-over-year.

For the first quarter of 2008, revenues are expected to be in the range of $1.35 billion to $1.40 billion, up 5% to 9% from 2007.

The announcement follows Titan’s recent acquisition of various secured debt and equity instruments held by Nexus Nano Electronics Inc. Titan will combine Nexus with the operations of its Titan Electronics Group.

“The group achieved increased revenue from its telecommunication products and electronic learning products businesses in Europe, and improved net margins further, despite continued cost pressures," said Allan Wong, chairman and group CEO.

Revenue at the TEL business was $356.1 million, a slight decline of 0.9%. During the period, the business accounted for 48.5% of revenue.

The North American market was weaker than expected, VTech said, with revenue at $253.6 million, a decline of 12.5%, as the US cordless phone market slowed in the face of declining housing starts and fewer promotions by retailers.

However, the company’s branded business in North America continued to gain market share as consumers responded well to the DECT 6.0 range of cordless phones.

Revenue in Europe was $86.7 million, an increase of 43.3%. In Asia Pacific and other regions outside North America and Europe, revenue surged by 118.8% and 68.5%, to $3.5 million and $12.3 million respectively.

Revenue from the ELP business increased to $262.1 million, up 17.4%.

The contract manufacturing services business saw revenue decline by 11.7% to $115.9 million, representing 15.8% of group revenue. Europe remained the leading source of revenue, representing 45.9% of the total, followed by North America at 39.8% and Asia Pacific at 14.3%.

The CMS business is forecast to achieve growth for the full year; sales appear set to pick up in the second half, VTech said.

HIALEAH, FL – Contract manufacturer Simclar Inc. reported net income for the third quarter was $415,330, down 32.8% year-over-year.

Revenue for the quarter was $33.15 million, up 8% year-over-year.

Pre-tax income was $626,568, down about 39% compared to the same quarter in 2006. Escalating losses in North Carolina operations, poor financial results at the company’s Dayton, OH facility, and raw material shortages were the main factors contributing to the decline in earnings, Simclar said.

Chairman Sam Russell said, "The results for the third quarter were disappointing and we have quickly taken corrective actions. We recently announced the rationalization of our North Carolina sheet metal operations, which are being transferred to our facility in Mexico to take advantage of the lower costs and integration capabilities with PCBA, cable harness, and high-level assembly. We have also changed the general manager at our Dayton, OH plant as a result of that facility's poor trading performance. Material shortages had a particularly adverse affect on our backplane assembly operations; however, we are seeing improvements and, as of now, we do not anticipate any further disruptions from our material suppliers."

TORONTO – Adeptron Technologies Corp. reported a third-quarter loss of $1.12 million, including a one-time $460,263 restructuring charge for consolidation of its Markham manufacturing facilities.

San Bruno, CA – Worldwide Manufacturing USA Inc. announced record revenues for the third quarter of nearly $3 million, up 5.8% year-over-year.

This increase was the result of an increase in orders, the company said.

Revenues year-to-date were $8.45 million, up approximately 5% compared to the first nine months of last year.

Net income before tax for the third quarter was $137,553, a decrease of approximately 69%, the engineering firm and contract manufacturer said.

This was the result of an increase in public cost, as well as expenses associated with finding potential acquisitions for the company, Worldwide Manufacturing reported.

Year-to-date net profit before tax was $480,994, a decrease of approximately 15.7%.

Jimmy Wang, CEO of Worldwide, stated, "We continue to focus on acquisition targets as well as internal growth. The trend of record revenues continues."

PHOENIX – EMS provider Suntron Corp. reported net sales of $52.5 million and a net loss of $400,000 for the third quarter of 2007.

The results included charges of $200,000 for stock-based compensation and $100,000 for restructuring expenses.

Gross profit for the third quarter was $4 million, flat with the same period last year, and down 32% sequentially.

"Our focus on working capital management has helped us significantly reduce our bank debt to $6.4 million at the end of the third quarter of 2007," stated Paul Singh, president and CEO.

SIOUX FALLS, SD – Raven Industries Inc. reported record sales and earnings for its third quarter. Continued strong demand in the flow controls division drove an 8% increase in sales, to $61.8 million, the company said.

Third-quarter net income was $7.4 million, up 6% year-over-year.

Year-to-date, sales rose $175.6 million, up 6% compared to the same period last year.

Year-to-date net income was $21.8 million, an 11% increase year-over-year.

"The flow controls division capitalized on a strong agricultural market, with good acceptance of new products and solid demand across the entire product line. The electronic systems division and Aerostar also reported double-digit increases in revenues and operating income. These advances more than offset declines in the engineered films division, which were caused primarily by increased price competition in its markets and the lack of disaster film sales," said CEO Ronald M. Moquist.

DANBORO, PA – In an effort to protect its intellectual property rights, PennEngineering has served complaints on six fastener manufacturers attending the National Industrial Fastener Show/West in Las Vegas. 

The complaints were filed Nov. 13 in Federal District Court in Nevada.

PennEngineering has alleged these companies were exhibiting and offering for sale products that violate one or more of the company’s trademarks and patents. 

PennEngineering has asked a federal district court in Nevada to require these companies immediately cease and desist from infringing activities and award PennEngineering appropriate damages.