Ceradyne Inc

Ceradyne Inc. said Thursday it expects fourth-quarter bookings to exceed $15 million, which would be a record for the Costa Mesa manufacturer of advanced ceramics for industrial, electronic, defense and consumer uses. The company said it was notified by a federal agency that it would receive a $6.7-million order for military armor and also received about $1 million in orders from a "U.S.-friendly" foreign government for lightweight ceramic armor. Both orders are due for delivery in 2001.

Ceradyne Inc., a maker of ceramic parts used in the military, automotive and industrial industries, said its second-quarter profit more than doubled, driven by a sales surge. The Costa Mesa-based company also said it would review stock option grants going back to 1997, after concerns were raised by non-regulatory parties. Net income rose to $30 million, or $1.10 a share, from $11.4 million, or 46 cents, a year earlier. Revenue jumped 80% to $162 million from $89.9 million a year earlier.

Ceradyne Inc., completing its successful conversion from a military-dependent contractor to a diversified supplier of high-tech ceramic products, reported its first profit in five years for 1995 on record sales. The company posted net income of $2.1 million, or 31 cents a share, for 1995, contrasted with a net loss of $1.9 million, or 30 cents a share, for 1994. Sales rose 30% to $23.4 million from $18 million.

Ceradyne Inc., experiencing growing demand for its advanced ceramics technology, expects to post strong gains in earnings and sales for the fourth quarter, Chief Executive Joel Moskowitz said Friday. He said the Costa Mesa company will post earnings of 14 cents a share on sales of $11.6 million for the three months. Analysts were estimating earnings of 13 cents a share, according to a First Call/Thomson survey.

Beckman Coulter Inc., a Fullerton developer of laboratory instruments and supplies, Monday reported first-quarter net income of $28 million, or 43 cents a share, 19% higher than the $23.5 million, or 37 cents, posted for the same period last year. Sales increased 3% to $446.7million. Beckman's chairman, John P. Wareham, noting that the markets the company is in are generally favorable, forecast second-quarter sales to grow about 6% and net earnings to jump as high as 19%.