The payment and merchandising technologies business of Crane Co have driven its net profit attributable to shareholders to US$82.4 million in the first quarter of this year, up 19.9 percent from US$68.7 million a year earlier.
The United States-based supplier of technology to the gaming and other industries issued a statement on Monday saying its first-quarter sales grew to US$831.7 million, about 4 percent more than in the prior-year period.
First-quarter operating profit rose by about 21 percent to US$113.7 million according to the company’s account.
The gaming industry is among the customers of the Crane payment and merchandising technologies business. Sales in the segment grew to nearly US$304 million in the first quarter, about 4 percent more than a year earlier.
First-quarter operating profit in the payment and merchandising technologies business rose by about 18 percent year-on-year to US$43.2 million.
“We had a strong start to the year, with operating results slightly better than expected. All of our businesses are performing well, and we continue to execute on our growth initiatives, as well as productivity and repositioning activities,” the statement quotes Crane president and chief executive Max Mitchell as saying.
Crane reaffirmed its forecast that sales will reach about US$3.3 billion in 2019, about 2 percent less than the year before.
In a separate press release issued on Monday, Crane declared a regular quarterly dividend of US$0.39 per share for the second quarter of 2019. The dividend is payable on June 10 to shareholders on record at the close of business on May 31.
In January, Crane reported that its annual operating profit rose to US$441 million in 2018, 14 percent more than the year before and the most ever, on annual sales that grew by 20 percent to US$3.35 billion, also the most ever.
The Crane conglomerate has four business segments: fluid handling, payment and merchandising technologies, aerospace and electronics, and engineered materials. The organisation employs about 12,000 employees around the world.
