Spirit AeroSystems' profit in-line but margins decline
(Adds details on quarter, share price)
Nov 1 (Reuters) - Aircraft parts maker Spirit AeroSystems Holdings Inc on Wednesday posted a decline in quarterly operating margins, hurt by lower maintenance, repair and overhaul services sales.
The Wichita, Kansas-based company's shares fell as much as 5.1 percent to $76 in morning trading.
Spirit Aero said operating margins at its three segments combined fell 20 basis points to 15.7 percent on lower sales from global customer support and services, which provide maintenance, repair and overhaul to airlines.
The company's global customer support and services business also offers engineering services to airlines and maintains a pool of rotable assets for lease, exchange and purchase.
Spirit Aero, which counts Boeing Co and Airbus SE among its biggest customers, attributed the declines in operating margins to fuselage systems, its biggest business.
The fuselage systems business makes sections of the fuselage for certain Boeing and Airbus aircraft.
However, total ship-set deliveries — or complete sets of parts for individual aircraft — rose to 404 in the quarter from 384 last year.
Net income rose to $147.2 million, or $1.26 per share, in the third quarter ended Sept. 28, from $145.1 million, or $1.16 cents per share, a year earlier.
Total revenue rose 2.2 percent to $1.75 billion.
Analysts had expected third-quarter profit of $1.26 per share and revenue $1.73 billion. (Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernard Orr)
