Q2 report - upbeat on new orders, backlog.
Machine tool industry group also appears to have made at least a short-term bottom ~8/11. Backlog is now strengthening; time to buy? WT
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biz.yahoo.com
Tuesday August 4, 8:03 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
Perceptron Announces Results for Second Quarter
PLYMOUTH, Mich., Aug. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Perceptron, Inc. (Nasdaq: PRCP) today announced sales and earnings for the second quarter ended June 30, 1998 were slightly improved from the first quarter, as previously announced. The Company posted sales of $9.6 million, and a net loss for the quarter of $1.5 million or $0.18 per share. In the 1997 second quarter, revenues were $18.8 million with net earnings of $3.8 million or $0.45 per diluted share. For the six months ending June 30, 1998, sales were $18.3 million in 1998 compared to $31.2 million in 1997. A loss of $3.2 million or $.38 per share was incurred in the current year compared to earnings of $4.7 million, or $.55 per diluted share, in 1997.
New order bookings for the second quarter were up significantly from those of the first quarter, amounting to $13.4 million. This exceeds the new order bookings of the second quarter of 1997 by more than 25%, and was significantly more than the $5.4 million booked during the first quarter of 1998. At June 30, the order backlog stood at $24.7 million, an 18% increase over backlog at the end of the second quarter of 1997. So far during the third quarter, additional orders and a letter of intent totaling almost $7 million have been received, including an order for almost $1 million from an integrator for a major auto manufacturer for its Mexican plant. This brings the total backlog to date to more than $30 million.
As previously announced, each of the Company's business units experienced delays of expected orders, to be both booked and shipped late in the second quarter, totaling approximately $5 million. One of the delayed North American orders has since been received, with shipments for all these delayed orders now anticipated by year-end. A second order still on hold is anticipated to be released during the third quarter, now that the General Motors strike has been settled.
The Forest Products business unit also experienced delays of orders now expected in the third quarter of 1998 for shipment by year-end, as previously announced. Most of these delays were due to changing dynamics in the lumber industry driven by softening prices for dimension lumber. The softening market has driven some sawmills to adopt process optimization to survive, while others have delayed their purchases to weather the difficult period. The Company does not believe that this dynamic has changed the overall market prospects for 1998, but has made it more difficult to anticipate the timing of orders and shipments.
Alfred A. Pease, chairman, president and chief executive officer, commented, "I am pleased that our order backlog is strengthening, and that our business prospects are improving. Now that the strike has been settled we expect that our business activities with General Motors will resume to normal over the coming months."
"Our new product developments efforts continue and we are excited about our prospects for the future", Mr. Pease continued. "As we've previously stated, 1998 continues to be an important investment year for Perceptron as new markets and product introductions unfold and we leverage our skills and technologies to position us for sustainable revenue and earnings growth."
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