The company had $1.5 billion in sales in the three-month period that ended Sept. 30, compared with more than $1.8 billion in the same period a year ago.
Military-vehicle sales were up 55%, to $855 million, as Oshkosh Corp. received long-term government contracts worth billions of dollars.
The strong military-vehicle business wasn't enough to offset sales declines in the company's other segments, including equipment used in the construction industry.
But, boosted by the military and thousands of vehicles sent to Iraq and Afghanistan, Oshkosh reported a quarterly profit of $140.3 million, or $1.68 per share, compared with $53.7 million, or 72 cents per share, a year earlier.
For the full year, the company reported a $1 billion loss, compared with a $79 million profit in fiscal 2008, mostly due to the decline in its non-defense businesses.
"Our positive results for the quarter were led by strength in our defense business," Robert Bohn, company chairman and CEO, said in a news release.
"We have been aggressively ramping up our factories to achieve our December 2009 production target of 1,000 M-ATVs per month to support our war fighters in Afghanistan."
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