Minneapolis, Minnesota - Graco Inc., supplier of liquid dispensing equipment, has posted a 16 percent increase in second-quarter net profit of $41.3 million on the back of a 10 percent growth in sales of $218.6 million.
Sales in North America and South America increased by 9 percent to $144.4 million, led by the company's industrial and lubrication segments.
In Europe, Graco reported net sales of $45.4 million, a 12 percent increase, with ''double-digit'' volume growth in the industrial and contractor segments.
Second quarter sales in the Asia Pacific were 14 percent higher than the same period last year, with a total of $28.9 million.
Worldwide, the company reported sales of $104.6 million in the industrial segment - an increase of 11 percent - and $96.5 million in the contractor equipment segment - a rise of 8 percent.
"This [result] represents our seventeenth consecutive quarter of sales growth and it's the twelfth consecutive quarter where all three segments have reported higher sales,'' Graco president David Roberts said.
Graco also announced that it would close two facilities operated by newly-acquired Lubriquip in 2007 and combine its operations with its own lubrication business at a new plant in Minnesota.
''We are pleased with the opportunities we have identified to improve the profitability of Lubriquip,'' Roberts said."
