CRANBERRY TWP —MSA officials this morning announced record sales for the 2011 fourth quarter and a doubling of company’s sales for the year.

Sales for the year were a record $1.173 billion compared with $977 million in 2010, an increase of $196 million, or 20 percent.

Income for the year was $70 million, or $1.91 per basic share, an increase of $32 million, or 83 percent, compared with $38 million, or $1.06 per share, for 2010.

The net income for the year was $78 million, or $2.13 per share.

Net sales for the fourth quarter of 2011 were a record $304 million compared with $285 million for the same quarter in 2010, an increase of $19 million, or 7 percent.

William Lambert, MSA president and CEO, said in a news release, “For the quarter, we achieved strong results across several of our core product groups throughout the world. In particular, gas detection products performed well in both developed and emerging markets, growing 12 percent in the quarter.

“The 14 percent growth we saw in self-contained breathing apparatus sales was also very encouraging.

Lambert said, “We remain optimistic regarding a strengthening U.S. economy and growing economies in the emerging markets of the world.”