A. O. Smith Corporation with headquarters in Milwaukee Wis. is a diversified manufacturer serving customers worldwide. The company is one of the world's leading manufacturers and marketers of residential and commercial water heating equipment offering a comprehensive line featuring the best- known brands in the industry. It is also one of North America's largest manufacturers of electric motors with an extensive line of hermetic fractional horsepower and integral horsepower motors for residential commercial and industrial applications. A. O. Smith employs people at facilities in the United States Mexico China Canada and Europe. A. O. Smith Corp. has a market cap of $1.19 billion; its shares were traded at around $39.6 with a P/E ratio of 16.8 and P/S ratio of 0.5. The dividend yield of A. O. Smith Corp. stocks is 2%. A. O. Smith Corp. had an annual average earning growth of 2.5% over the past 10 years. Highlight of Business Operations: The primary accounting impact of the SICO transaction is in the calculation of earnings per share because the accounting rules require the use of SICO adjusted average shares outstanding prior to closing. The 2009 third quarter earnings and per share amounts are unaffected by the SICO transaction. Eliminating the impact of the transaction as set forth in the table on the following page, non-GAAP net earnings were $21.4 million or $0.70 per diluted share in the third quarter of 2008 and compared to the previously mentioned net earnings of $34.6 million or $1.14 per share in the third quarter of 2009. Reported net earnings for the first nine months of 2009 were $58.6 million or $2.69 per diluted share and compared to net earnings of $21.7 million or $2.29 per share in the first nine months of 2008. Elimination of the impact of the transaction results in non-GAAP net earnings of $67.0 million or $2.21 per diluted share in the first nine months of 2009 as compared to non-GAAP net earnings of $75.2 million or $2.48 per share in the same period of 2008.
Selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses were $92.3 million in the third quarter of 2009 or $5.1 million higher than the third quarter of 2008. The majority of the increased SG&A was incurred by Water Products and was associated with selling costs to support higher volume at its China operation. The remainder of the third quarter increase resulted from due diligence costs associated with our recently announced agreement to purchase a majority interest in a China water treatment business and higher corporate expenses. SG&A for the first nine months of 2009 was $265.6 million or $10.2 million less than the same period in 2008 due mostly to salaried personnel reduction activities and lower domestic selling costs. SICO related SG&A was $0.5 million and $1.2 million in the third quarter and first nine months of 2008, respectively, and was negligible in 2009.
In the third quarter of 2009, we had restructuring income of $3.0 million associated with the sale of our Shenzhen, China electric motor facility to the Chinese government, which exercised eminent domain relative to a road construction project. In the first nine months of 2009, restructuring income was $1.5 million as the above gain on the Shenzhen facility was partially offset by a $1.0 million loss on sale of a vacated facility from a previously owned business and $0.5 million of moving costs associated with certain Electrical Products plant closures. We recognized $2.4 million
Operating earnings for our Electrical Products segment in the third quarter of 2009 were $22.8 million or $12.2 million higher than 2008 third quarter earnings of $10.6 million which included $2.1 million in pre-tax restructuring charges. The higher third quarter 2009 earnings were due to continued benefits from the restructuring initiatives completed in 2008 as well as ongoing expense reduction actions and lower raw material costs. A $3.0 million net gain associated with the sale of the Shenzhen, China facility and $2.2 million of LIFO income which resulted from reduced inventory levels also contributed to the improved third quarter earnings. Operating earnings for the first nine months of 2009 were $27.4 million or $16.9 million lower than earnings in the same period of 2008. The lower earnings resulted from significantly lower volumes which more than offset the cost savings achieved as a result of the 2008 restructuring activities.
Our working capital was $261.2 million at September 30, 2009, compared with $280.1 million working capital associated with continuing operations at December 31, 2008. A reduction in inventory levels of $63.3 million, as a result of focused inventory reduction programs at both businesses, and higher accounts payable at our Water Products segment resulting from improved vendor terms were partially offset by a $67.5 million (non-cash) decline in our derivative contracts liability. Cash provided by operating activities during the first nine months of 2009 was $197.8 million compared with $75.0 million during the first nine months of 2008. A decline in the companys working capital needs this year compared with a significant increase last year more than offset lower earnings this year compared with the same period one year ago. For the total year, we expect cash provided by operating activities to be approximately $190 to $200 million.
Our capital expenditures totaled $37.9 million during the first nine months of 2009 compared with $44.3 million in the same period last year. We are projecting 2009 capital expenditures to be between $55 and $60 million, less than last year and less than our 2009 projected depreciation and amortization expense of approximately $70 million. A significant portion of the remaining capital spending projected for the fourth quarter is associated with the construction of the water heater manufacturing plant near Bangalore, India.
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