Flow International posts another quarterly loss

Flow International of Kent, a maker of industrial waterjet machines, said it lost $4.5 million last quarter as sales declined to $43.7 million, down 31 percent from the year-earlier period.

The fourth-quarter loss compares with a profit of $13.3 million in the same period a year ago, but it's an improvement over the $20.7 million loss Flow reported in the quarter ended Jan. 30.

The quarterly loss includes $3.8 million in charges related to its planned acquisition of rival Omax, which was called off last month.

For the fiscal year ended April 30, the company said sales dropped 14 percent to $210.1 million.

"We continue to see the impact of the global economic slowdown in portions of our business," said Charley Brown, president and CEO of Flow. "We feel that roughly two-thirds of our fourth quarter revenue stream has stabilized while one-third remains more volatile during these difficult economic times."

The financial results were released after the stock market closed today. In early after-hours trading, Flow shares were up 13 cents, or 5.5 percent, at $2.50. The stock closed the regular session today up 15 cents, or 6.8 percent, at $2.37 Thursday.