American Pacific reports lower profit

Monday, Dec. 22, 2003 | 11:05 a.m.

The grounding of the space shuttle fleet continues to hurt a Las Vegas company that manufactures a rocket-fuel component at a plant in Utah.

American Pacific Corp. last week reported net income of $3.9 million, or 53 cents a share, on revenue of $20.4 million for the company's fourth quarter ended Sept. 30. That compares with net income of $4 million, or 55 cents a share, on revenue of $21.9 million for the fourth quarter of 2002.

"We expect to remain profitable, but our cash flow will be affected by the continued grounding of the space shuttle," said John Gibson, chief executive of American Pacific, which has its corporate headquarters in Las Vegas, but its manufacturing plant near Cedar City, Utah.

"We continue to believe that the interruption at NASA is temporary and would be restored next year," Gibson said.

Gibson indicated shuttle flights, curtailed since the shuttle Columbia was destroyed and seven astronauts killed during re-entry after a February mission, would resume next fall.

Company officials said they were not instructed to curtail the production of ammonium perchlorate, a rocket-fuel component, but chemical sales were still down $1.5 million, or 6 percent, from the previous year's fourth quarter. The company also reported a decrease in shipments of sodium azide, an agent used in the deployment of air bags in cars.