Beltway Bet: Ceradyne
Posted: March 9, 2007 Filed under: Investing, Washington Leave a comment »WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Thursday, Arlington, Va., investment bank Friedman Billings Ramsey held its annual Washington conference. At the event, execs at some of the biggest names in the defense business–Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, among others–made their case to investors.
Early in his presentation, Ceradyne Vice President Marc King distinguished his employer from the pack. “The majority of what we do today is related to defense,” he said, “however, I want to be perfectly clear, we do not categorize ourselves as a defense company.”
Not a defense company, eh? No, that wouldn’t be perfectly clear to the casual observer of Ceradyne’s business. The Costa Mesa, Calif., company makes high-end ceramics from synthetic materials (as opposed to traditional ceramics, fired from non-metallic minerals like clay). In 2006, nearly three-quarters of Ceradyne’s $663 million revenues came from sales of ceramic body armor to defense customers.
