Aug 01, 2012. /Lesprom Network/. Albany International Corp. reported a 2Q 2012 loss from continuing operations of $57.8 million ($1.84 per share), including a charge of $110.6 million ($2.34 per share) for pension plan settlements, restructuring charges of $3.2 million ($0.07 per share), foreign currency revaluation gains of $5.8 million ($0.14 per share), and net unfavorable income tax adjustments of $1.3 million ($0.04 per share). In June 2012, the Company completed the sale of its PrimaLoft® Products business, resulting in a gain of $35 million. 2Q 2012 income from discontinued operations was $0.76 per share, as the company said in the press release received by Lesprom Network. Gross profit was $78.5 million (40.9% of net sales) in the 2Q 2012, compared to $73.9 million (39% of net sales) in the same period of 2011. The increase primarily was due to Machine Clothing, where gross profit margins increased from 41.8% in 2011 to 44.2% in 2012, as a result of high plant utilization in the Americas and favorable geographic sales mix. Selling, technical, general, and research (STG&R) expenses were $50.8 million, or 26.5% of net sales, in the 2Q 2012. STG&R expenses included gains of $2.7 million related to the revaluation of non-functional-currency assets and liabilities and $1.5 million due to favorable adjustments to compensation and other accruals. STG&R expenses were also reduced by $0.9 million as the result of lower pension expense due to the pension settlements noted above. President and CEO Joseph Morone said, “Our performance in 2Q 2012 was excellent. As expected, sales rebounded from the soft 1Q to levels that were slightly better than the comparable period in 2011. And profitability was much stronger. Adjusted EBITDA rose to $40 million, compared to $31 million for the comparable period in 2Q 2011. “Both our businesses performed well. In MC, sales and orders were as weak as expected in Western Europe, and continued to run roughly 15% below average 2011 levels. Sales and orders in the Americas and Asia were strong, and drove a rebound of overall sales back to 2Q 2011 levels. Across all three regions, the combination of new products and strong strategic relations with key papermakers contributed heavily to top-line performance. Except for Western Europe, profitability was strong. Gross profit margin, which ordinarily we would expect to be in the range of 42%-44%, exceeded 44%. Strong plant utilization in the Americas and favorable product mix contributed to the high margins. “AEC also had a good quarter. Sales and EBITDA both increased sharply compared to 2Q 2011, and were in line with our expectations. The development and ramp-up of the LEAP program continued to progress on schedule. Our customers, Safran and CFM (the joint venture between Safran and GE), have announced nearly 4,000 orders for the LEAP engine to date. Meanwhile, our R&D pipeline continues to expand, relations with our other major customers – most notably Rolls-Royce on the Joint Strike Fighter program – continue to strengthen, and Boeing has now announced that the ground test for the ceramic engine nozzle is scheduled for 3Q, and that a flight test on a Boeing “EcoDemonstrator” aircraft is scheduled for 3Q 2013 Albany International is a global advanced textiles and materials processing company, with two core businesses. Machine Clothing is the world’s leading producer of custom-designed fabrics and belts essential to production in the paper, nonwovens, and other process industries. Albany Engineered Composites is a rapidly growing supplier of highly engineered composite parts for the aerospace industry.