Aldila continues to see its branding initiatives pay off in the golf market, and the company’s vertically integrated carbon fiber facility is also helping the manufacturer boost sales of carbon pre-preg to other sporting goods manufacturers who use the “black gold” in their finished products.

Net sales increased 79% to $19.3 million in the third quarter. The company’s NV series of golf shafts led the way in sales with branded sales up 80%. Composite pre-preg sales increased 55% during the quarter and represented 10% of Aldila’s business. Hockey sales were said to be higher than the two previous quarters combined due to the end of the NHL lockout. Order backlog was $9.7 million, a 32% increase over quarter-end last year.

Gross margin increased to 40.7% compared to 23.4% last year, largely due to sales of branded golf shafts. Net income rose 15.2% to $3.8 million, or 68 cents per diluted share for Q3.

ALDA said that traditionally, the third quarter is their weakest of the year, but with seasonality changes, and a flattening of the “spikes and troughs,” this Q3 was the biggest quarter in over ten years.