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S STRATTEC ™ STRATTEC SECURITY CORPORATION Reports Fiscal 2021 Third Quarter Operating Results April 22 , 2021 MILWAUKEE , April 22 , 2021 ( GLOBE NEWSWIRE ) -- STRATTEC SECURITY CORPORATION ( NASDAQ : STRT ) today reported operating results for the fiscal third quarter ended March 28 , 2021 . Net sales for the Company's third quarter ended March 28 , 2021 were $ 121.6 million , compared to net sales of $ 116.9 million for the third quarter ended March 29 , 2020 . Net income for the current year quarterly period was $ 4.5 million , compared to net income of $ 3.0 million in the prior year quarter . Diluted earnings per share for the current year quarterly period were $ 1.15 compared to diluted earnings per share of $ 0.79 in the prior year quarter . For the nine months ended March 28 , 2021 , the Company's net sales were $ 375.2 million compared to net sales of $ 343.2 million in the prior year nine month period . Net income during the current year nine month period was $ 19.6 million compared to net income of $ 2.9 million in the prior year nine month period . Diluted earnings per share were $ 5.11 for the nine month period ended March 28 , 2021 compared to diluted earnings per share of $ 0.77 during the nine month period ended March 29 , 2020. The prior year nine month period was negatively impacted by a pre - tax $ 4,473,000 non - cash compensation charge relating to the termination of our Defined Benefit Pension Plan and reduced our diluted earnings per share by $ .92 in the prior year period . Net sales to each of our customers or customer groups in the current year quarter and prior year quarter were as follows ( in thousands ) : Fiat Chrysler Automobiles General Motors Company Ford Motor Company Tier 1 Customers Commercial and Other OEM Customers Hyundai / Kia TOTAL $ Three Months Ended March 28 , 2021 ། 34,544 21,721 March 29 , 2020 21,685 $ 26,050 31,656 15,462 17,495 20,184 8,529 6,091 $ 121,644 $ 116,938 17,289 17,876 Net sales for our current year quarter were impacted by supply chain shortages and resulted in several of our customers shutting down certain plants and / or production lines for periods of time . Sales to Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in the current year quarter decreased in comparison to the prior year quarter due to lower production volumes of the vehicles we supply , in particular related to Chrysler minivans . The increase in sales to General Motors Company in the current year quarter compared to the prior year quarter related primarily to higher sales content on models for which we supply components , in particular for power access and door handle products . Sales to Ford Motor Company increased in the current year quarter compared to the prior year quarter due primarily to higher product content on models for which we supply components , and in particular for the new power tailgate program on the F - 150 pickup trucks . Sales to Tier 1 Customers were flat in the current year quarter compared to the prior year quarter . Sales to Commercial and Other OEM Customers during the current year quarter decreased in comparison to the prior year quarter mainly due to decreases in sales related to door handle products and power access products sold to Honda of America Manufacturing , Inc. and related to reductions in sales of door handle products sold to Volkswagen . These Commercial and Other OEM Customers , along with the Tier 1 Customers , primarily represent purchasers of vehicle access control products , such as latches , key fobs , driver controls , steering column locks and door handles that we have developed in recent years to complement our historic core business of locks and keys . The increased sales to Hyundai / Kia in the current year quarter were principally due to higher levels of production on their recently launched new Kia Sedona and Hyundai Starex minivans for which we supply primarily power sliding door components . Gross profit margins were 15.3 percent in the current year quarter compared to 14.5 percent in the prior year quarter . The increase in gross profit margin in the current year quarter compared to the prior year quarter was primarily attributed to improved manufacturing efficiencies both at our Milwaukee and Mexico production facilities , despite supply chain disruptions . Also reducing gross profit margins in the current year quarter were higher expense provisions for accrual of bonuses and a mandatory minimum wage increase enacted by the Mexican Government effective January 1 , 2021. This wage increase was principally offset by a favorable U.S. Dollar to Mexican Peso exchange rate affecting our Mexican operations Engineering , Selling and Administrative expenses represented 9.8 percent in the current year quarter as a percent of net sales compared to 9.2 percent in the prior year quarter . The increase in overall operating expenses in the current year quarter was primarily due to higher expense provisions for accrual of bonuses and expenditures on new product development costs . Included in Other Income , Net in the current year quarter compared to the prior year quarter were the following items ( in thousands of dollars ) : Equity ( Loss ) of VAST LLC Joint Venture Net Foreign Currency Realized and $ March 28 , 2021 ( 56 ) $ March 29 , 2020 ( 947 )