NEW YORK (Associated Press) - RBC Bearings Inc., which makes ball bearings for industrial and military use, said Wednesday its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings leaped 79 percent as it expanded its product mix and customer base through acquisitions.

The company earned $12 million, or 55 cents per share, compared with $6.7 million, or 31 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter.

Adjusted to exclude one-time gains and losses, the company earned $12.3 million, or 57 cents per share, in the latest quarter.

Revenue rose 14 percent to $92.1 million, from $81 million a year earlier.

Analysts were expecting a profit of 54 cents per share on revenue of $91.1 million, according to a poll by Thomson Financial.

The company said better margins, a widened customer base and sales of new products all helped offset weakness in the class 8 truck market.

For the full fiscal year, the company earned $40.2 million, or $1.84 per share, compared with $28.5 million, or $1.33 per share, in fiscal 2007. Excluding one-time items, net income totaled $40.8 million, or $1.87 per share.

Revenue rose to $330.6 million, from $306.1 million a year earlier.

For the fiscal 2009 first-quarter ending in June, the company expects operating income of $17 million to $18 million. It predicts first-quarter sales of between $91 million and $93 million, up at least 14 percent over the sales booked in the year-ago quarter.

RBC Bearings shares fell 45 cents to $37.55 in afternoon trading.