Donaldson Company, Inc., on Wednesday reported net earnings of $73 million, or 50 cents per share, up from $72.6 million, or 48 cents per share, for the quarter that ended July 31. Revenue climbed to $668 million, up 5.6 percent from the $633 million earned in last year’s fourth quarter.
 
Donaldson said all three figures, along with its $1.78 per share for the full fiscal year, set company records. It cited replacement filter sales as the quarter’s highlight and said gains in industrial products offset a decline in gas turbine shipments.
 
For the coming year, Donaldson forecasted sales of $2.57 billion to $2.67 billion, a 4 to 8 percent increase that, if realized, would exceed estimates by analysts polled by Thomson Reuters. This past quarter, Donaldson beat those analysts’ predictions for earnings per share (47 cents) and revenue ($655 million.)
 
Donaldson said Wednesday that its fiscal 2015 projections excludes any effects of its pending acquisition of Abu Dhabi-based air filter maker Northern Technical L.L.C., which it expects to close next month. The company said earlier this month that the purchase would leverage its customer relationships in the Middle East, considered the world’s largest gas turbine market.
 
Donaldson, one of the world’s largest air filter producers with 12,600 employees at more than 140 locations worldwide, told Twin Cities Business this month that no changes to the company’s headcount were expected as a result of the purchase.
 
Shares of Donaldson were up nearly 3 percent at $41.90 by mid-Wednesday. That’s 16 percent more than at this point last year and 8 percent more than the beginning of this month.