Carbon fibre and fabrics maker Hexcel Corporation, USA, has reported strong growth in sales and operating income for the three months and full year ended December 31, 2007.

Sales in the final quarter advanced to $317.6 million, 20.8% higher than a year ago, while full year sales were 11.6% higher at $1.17 billion. Operating income in the final three months of 2007 was up by 19% to $20.8M. while the full year figure was 11.0% higher at $114.9M. A year ago, Hexcel recognized a pre-tax gain of $15.7 million in its fourth quarter from the sale of its interest in TechFab LLC, providing a significant boost to its net income. As a result, net income for both the final quarter and the ful year 2007 were lower than in 2006 – respectively $13M. vs. $17.7M and $63.3M. vs. $64.9M. for the fourth quarter and full year.

Chief executive David E. Berges, commented: "This was a very good closing quarter to a successful year of significant transition for Hexcel. Fourth quarter sales were at record levels, led by the extremely strong growth in revenues from aerospace (both commercial and defence) and assisted by strong sales in the wind energy markets. Our diluted earnings per share for the quarter was a solid $0.20 excluding the one-time items, as compared to $0.08 last year."

Increased aircraft production by both Boeing and Airbus lifted Hexcel’s Commercial Aerospace sales by 24.5% to $170.3M. in the fourth quarter. Space & Defense’s final quarter sales were 20.7% higher at $71.6M. Industrial segment sales showed a modest rise, but with strong mid-teen revenue growth in wind-energy applications.