Zoltek, one of the large manufacturers of carbon fiber products saw its first quarter profit fall 80%.  By the end of the quarter they brought in $535,000, compared to $2.6 million a year before.

The huge drop had to do with customers postponing or canceling orders.  Yearly sales were down 4% from $40.1 million to $38.6 million.  This caused an increase in inventory on Zoltek’s end, gaining almost $8 million from Sep 30th to Dec 31st.

Zoltek had expected a slowdown, especially with the economy in a recession, but these numbers are worse than planned.  While Zoltek’s numbers are down, they believe it just represents a temporary lull.  They believe there is still long-term demand from commercial application for low-cost carbon fiber.  Zoltek trades on the NASDAQ  under the symbol ZOLT.

[Source: St. Louis Business Journal]