A world wide partner, or buyer !! As you read this letter, Kaman is marking our 70th
year in business. There is much to celebrate.
We have grown from a single breakthrough idea
from a legendary aerospace entrepreneur into a
global provider of highly engineered aerospace
and industrial products serving a broad range of
end markets. Our 4,800 employees in more than
260 locations are among the most dedicated,
innovative and loyal anywhere, inspired by the
spirit and wisdom of our founder, Charles Kaman.
This important milestone is less a reason to
look back than it is an opportunity to look
toward the future. How will we sustain—and
accelerate—the strong momentum we’ve built
up over the past several years? How can we
deliver even more value to our customers across
all of our businesses? How will we create a more
prosperous and more innovative company for our
customers, our shareholders, our colleagues and
our communities? These are the questions that
inspire all of us at Kaman to build on our 70-year
foundation to achieve even greater success.
As we enter our eighth decade, we continue to
execute on a business strategy that has delivered
solid results. In 2014, Kaman reported net
earnings from continuing operations of $65.8
million, or $2.37 per diluted share, compared to
$59.1 million, or $2.17 per diluted share, in 2013,
an increase of 9.2%. Net sales from continuing
operations for 2014 increased 8.5% to $1.79
billion, compared to $1.65 billion in 2013. I am
pleased that both Aerospace and Distribution
delivered improved margin performance, and
that Distribution delivered another year of organic
sales growth in a challenging environment. In
addition to improved margins, we generated
very strong free cash flow during the year:
$80.8 million from continuing operations in
2014, compared to $24.0 million during 2013,
and 2014 marked the 45th consecutive year of
dividend payments by Kaman.
These results reflect our long-term commitment
to improving financial performance. We focus
on driving strong top-line growth while delivering
earnings growth through building scale and
implementing operating efficiencies. Increasing
cash flow to finance future growth remains a
core commitment.
I believe our 2014 results demonstrate that
Kaman is strategically positioned for future
success. We have an outstanding portfolio of
intellectual property and technological knowhow
across our Aerospace businesses, and our
Distribution business is aligned with best-in-class
vendors. Our ongoing investments in infrastructure
and technology, combined with our relentless
focus on innovation and operational excellence,
position us to drive greater efficiencies and
increase financial performance. Our disciplined
acquisition approach continues to play an integral
role supporting our strategy while improving the
scale, building capabilities and enhancing the
financial performance of our company.