Orders up for Roper

Roper Industries Inc. (symbol: ROP) is going beyond simple improvement over 2009 by breaking records, the company's latest earnings release shows.

A 12% year-over-year increase in sales, up to $567 million for the second quarter of 2010, led to a 20% gain over last year's net earnings. The company earned $71 million in profits this quarter, or $0.74 per share.

But the record-breaking number pertains to Roper's future. In the recently concluded quarter, orders placed increased 27% over last year to $619 million, an all-time high.

"We were delighted to see organic sales growth return in the second quarter and, with record backlog, we now expect stronger organic sales growth in the second half," said CEO Brian Jellison.

Concurrent with the release of the company's latest earnings data, the Sarasota-based company with diverse business pursuits made headlines when it announced the purchase of iTradeNetwork Inc. for $525 million in cash.