Late on Thursday, Esterline Technologies Corp. (NYSE: ESL), an engineered products and systems provider for aerospace and defense applications, reported that its fourth quarter net profit jumped to  $43.88 million or $1.46 a share from $20.89 million or $0.78 a share in the comparable quarter of 2007. Revenue increased 14% to $404.35 million from $355.69 million in the prior year quarter. Analysts on average expected the company to earn $1.05 a share on revenue of $416.63 million. For full fiscal year 2008, the company's net income climbed to $120.53 million or $4.03 a share, from $92.28 million or $3.52 a share in 2007. Revenue rose to $1.48 billion from $1.21 billion in fiscal year 2007.Consensus estimates were for earnings of $3.62 per share on revenue of $1.55 billion for fiscal year 2008. Commenting on the results, Chief Executive Officer Robert W. Cremin said "...with strong organic growth we recorded another solid year, benefiting from improved performance across the board." He noted that fourth quarter earnings were boosted by the recently strengthening U.S. dollar. Cremin said that with "...nearly half of our manufacturing operations outside the U.S. -- most notably in Canada, France and the U.K. -- the headwind we faced for most of the year has shifted in our favor." Shares of Esterline Technologies rose 4.38% in after hours trade on Thursday.

White Electronic Designs Corp. (NASDAQ: WEDC) posted a fourth quarter net loss of $2.6 million or $0.12 a share, compared to net income of $0.3 million or $0.01 a share in the same quarter, a year ago. Loss from continuing operations for the fourth quarter was $1.1 million or $0.05 per share, compared to income from continuing operations of $2.0 million or $0.08 per share in the prior year quarter. Sales fell to $22.8 million from $26.5 million. Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing and a member of the interim Office of the President Dan Tarantine said in a statement "Bookings for the quarter were strong. We received numerous orders for the Euro-fighter 2000 and the Joint Tactical Radio System. We believe that bookings will remain positive going into the first quarter of the new fiscal year. We expect that our GPS/anti-tamper business will continue to achieve significant growth in fiscal year 2009. Our technical leadership in this critically important segment is beginning to gain sustainable traction."

Martek Biosciences Corp. (NASDAQ: MATK) announced that its fourth-quarter net income fell to $10.5 million or 31 cents a share, from $18.3 million or 55 cents a share in the comparable quarter of 2007.Total Sales climbed 10% to $90.4 million from $82.0 million. Analysts on average were looking for company to report earnings of 27 cents a share on revenue of $89.33 million for the quarter. Looking forward, the company expects first quarter revenue to be in the range of $86 million-$89 million and net income in the range of $8.7 million-$9.7 million or 27 cents-29 cents a share. Analysts currently expect the company to earn 29 cents a share on revenue of $89.75 million for the first quarter. Chief Executive Officer Steve Dubin said in a statement "Our results in this year's fourth quarter as well as the full fiscal year 2008 reflect the continued execution of our business plan. During the year, we increased penetration in international infant formula markets, expanded the use of DHA outside of infant formula and significantly improved our profitability and cash flow generation. These solid results have yielded a strong year-end balance sheet that includes over $100 million in cash and cash equivalents and is essentially debt-free. While economic conditions will present challenges, I believe that Martek is well-positioned to deliver revenue and profit growth in the year ahead."Shares of the company were up 0.66% in evening trade.

American Pacific Corp. (NASDAQ: APFC),a manufacturer of specialty and fine chemicals, Thursday said fourth quarter net income rose 19% to $4.33 million or 57 cents a share from $3.62 million or 48 cents a share in the fourth quarter of the previous year. Revenue jumped to $71.15 million from $61.73 million in the prior-year quarter. For full year fiscal 2008, the company posted net income of $8.95 million or $1.18 per share, compared to $4.98 million or 67 cents a share last year. Revenue increased to $203.13 million from $183.93 million in the period. American Pacific Corp. retreated 0.38% in extended trading on Thursday.

Disclosure: Author does not own any of the stocks discussed here.