Crane revenues dip in second quarter

By Paul Schott

Published 11:43 am EDT, Tuesday, July 23, 2019

STAMFORD — Industrial-products manufacturer Crane Co., which last week scuttled its planned acquisition of pump-and-valve maker Circor International, reported this week slightly slower returns for the past quarter.

In the second quarter, Crane sales decreased 1 percent, to $842 million, a dip that the company said reflected “unfavorable” foreign-exchange rates and also some business divestitures. It recorded a $91 million profit, compared with an $81 million bottom line a year ago.

“We had another strong quarter with operating results again slightly better than expected,” Crane CEO and President Max Mitchell said in a statement. “All of our businesses are executing well, and we continue to drive both growth and productivity initiatives across our businesses.”

Crane’s nearly $2 billion bid for Circor expired at midnight last Friday, with the firm reporting that about 67 percent of Circor’s stock had been offered up in response to the proposal. But certain conditions of its proposal were not fulfilled — namely, the company could not reach an agreement with Circor officials — so the proposed acquisition was abandoned, and all the offered shares will be returned.

The company’s initial plan to buy Circor at $45 per share was “summarily rejected,” with “no offer of discussions or due diligence,” according to Crane officials. Its bid was rejected again last month, and a subsequent $48-per-share offer was unanimously turned down earlier this month by the Circor board because its members said it “substantially undervalues” the company.

“While disappointed with the result, our attempt to acquire Circor should give our investors confidence that we will continue to aggressively pursue acquisitions, yet remain disciplined on valuation,” Mitchell said. “We have a full funnel of opportunities that we will continue to pursue in the quarters ahead, and our rigorous approach to capital deployment remains focused on our three primary growth platforms.”

Crane advanced the proposed deal about a year-and-a-half after its $800 million acquisition of Crane Currency, a Boston-based banknote supplier to the U.S. Treasury.

The name shared by the two companies is a coincidence; they did not have a connection before the merger

Other Crane specialties included fluid handling, engineered materials and aerospace and electronics.