Industrial manufacturer Raven Industries Inc., based in Sioux Falls, S.D., posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit, helped by strength in its Aerostar segment, but said it remains cautious about the near term outlook for farm equipment.

For the third quarter, the company reported net income of $7.3 million, or 40 cents a share, compared with $8.4 million, or 46 cents a share, a year ago.

Revenue for the quarter fell 20% to $60.2 million.

Analysts on average were expecting the company to earn 36 cents a share, before special items, on revenue of $61.8 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Sales at Aerostar, which sells aerospace products and military products, among others, rose 9% to $5.9 million, helped by an increase in sales of U.S. Army parachutes.

However, sales at the company's engineered films and applied technology segment fell 30% and 19%, respectively.