Oshkosh Beats on Military ATV Sales

OSHKOSH, Wisc. (TheStreet) -- The deals that truck-maker Oshkosh(OSK) has cut with the Pentagon to produce all-terrain vehicles for the wars in Iraq and, much more increasingly, Afghanistan have started to show on the company's bottom line.

Oshkosh reported fiscal fourth-quarter results that easily topped expectations, and investors snapped up the company's shares, which were trading on heavy volume recently at $35.12, up 10.3%, or $3.29.

Oshkosh said its adjusted profit in the fiscal fourth-quarter, taking into account a slew of items (inventory benefits, a tax benefit and gains from discontinued operations), came to 27 cents a share. Analysts were expecting EPS of 16 cents.

Still, the company's defense deals could not totally offset the slump in the construction industry, for which Oshkosh builds heavy machinery. Revenue in the period fell to $1.49 billion from $1.85 billion a year ago. But the top line did surpass Wall Street's target of $1.4 billion in revenue. ...