A day after GenCorp. Inc. announced its earnings, the company was one of the biggest gainers among common stocks on the New York Stock Exchange at Friday’s close of trading, with the stock rising $1.12, or 45 percent, to $3.61.
Shares of GenCorp (NYSE: GY) closed with a loss of 15 cents, or 5.68 percent, to $2.49 on Thursday.
A spokeswoman for GenCorp declined to comment on the stock fluctuation.
The company finished the year with a solid operational performance, though GenCorp reported a net loss for the fourth quarter of $5.7 million, or 10 cents per share, compared to a profit of $12.4 million, or 21 cents diluted earnings per share, for the same quarter in 2007.
The Rancho Cordova-based aerospace and defense business also showed a profit of $1.5 million for the year, well below its 2007 profit of $69 million.
The company said the lower operating results primarily were tied to a combination of unusual events. Last year’s operating results were hurt mainly by a charge of $14.6 million related to a freeze of the company’s pension plan. At the same time, 2007 results were especially high due to several one-time gains.
Fourth-quarter sales were down 2.6 percent to $198.5 million, and down slightly for the fiscal year ended Nov. 30 to 742.3 million.
The company also reported strong results from its aerospace and defense business. As of Nov. 30, GenCorp had a fully funded contract backlog — for which purchase orders have been received — totalling $675 million, compared to $566 million as of Nov. 30, 2007.
The total contract backlog as of Nov. 30, 2008 and 2007, was $1 billion and $912 million, respectively.
