JBT Corp. (JBT) – formerly known as John Bean Technologies, which, in turn, was spun out of FMC Technologies (FTI) during 2008 – reported its 4th quarter 2008 results.

Revenue of $234.4 million was down 19.3%. Income before Interest & Taxes was off by 25% to $17.1 million, as the margin declined from 7.8% to 7.3%. Net Income from Continuing Operations of $10.3 million equaled 4.4% of Revenue compared to $14.7 million or 5.1% on an historical basis, and $13.0 million or 4.5% on a pro-forma basis.

Diluted EPS from Continuing Operations were 37¢ as compared to 53¢ on an historical basis, and 47¢ on a pro-forma basis (pro-forma being an estimate of what the results might have been had JBT been a stand-alone company rather than part of FTI).

JBT has 2 operating segments: FoodTech and AeroTech.

FoodTech’s Q4-08 Revenues were $132.9 million, down 21.9% due to slowing demand in Western Europe and Latin America, the timing of large deliveries and the strong US$. However, FoodTech’s Operating Profit increased by 10.2 % to $18.4 million – or 13.8% of Revenue – from $16.7 million – or 9.8% of revenue – due to higher project margins and lower Selling & Administrative expenses. Incoming Orders of $135.8 million were off by 11% (3% in constant currencies); Backlog was down by 8.7% to $152.8 million.

AeroTech’s Q4-08 Revenues of $103.0 million were off by 15.1% because of a lower demand for ground support equipment (GSE). Operating Profit of $7.3 million – or 7.1% of Revenue – declined by 44.7% from $13.1 million – or 10.8% of Revenue – in part because of demand-driven restructuring costs. Incoming Orders of $74.7 million were off by 25.4% and Backlog was down by 38.2% to $142.6 million. AeroTech did receive a significant ($28 million) order after the close of the quarter.

On the conference call, management opined that 2009 will be an “incredibly challenging year!” We agree.

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