Local newspaper reports "APT is riding high"
bendbulletin.com
Published: September 6, 2000
Lia Yberra-Dart, a tech with APT, manufactures diodes for the international space station. APT has excelled because of its role in a highly specialized market that caters to the military and space industries. Photo from The Bulletin file.
By Beth Britton
The Bulletin
Bend’s Advanced Power Technology, Inc.’s initial public stock offering has been wildly successful, with the stock price doubling after just four weeks.
Shares of APT (NASDAQ: APTI) opened today at $41.75, up $4.25 from Tuesday’s market close. That’s up 272 percent from August 8, when 3.5 million shares were sold at $15 to give the company a market capitalization of $52.5 million.
Advanced Power Technology, founded in 1984, is a Bend-based manufacturer of high-powered, high-frequency semiconductors for customers in the industrial, military and space industries.
Not surprisingly, company chief financial officer Greg Haugen said APT officials are pleased with the stock’s performance.
“We had hoped to see a nice, steady climb as the company performed financially,” Haugen said. “This has been a pleasant surprise.”
Before the IPO, Haugen said company officials met with analysts in 18 major U.S. cities to gauge interest in the stock. Because a business trend is toward equipment with more sophisticated electrical systems, there is a growing need for higher power that is controlled in a precise manner, he said.
“We’re benefiting from the need for power,” Haugen said. “It’s a highly visible area right now.”
Todd Cooper, a vice president and power electronic analyst for Little Rock, Ark.-based investment firm Stephens, Inc., said the demand for the company’s products has taken off, and the company timed its IPO just right.
Stephens, Inc. is the bank that took the lead in bringing Advanced Power Technology public. From the very first day, Cooper said the stock immediately started to trade up.
“Anything related to power and semiconductors is extremely hot right now,” Cooper said. “They’re really in a niche market, and not a lot of other companies do this unique technology.”
There is a trend for all power-related stocks to go up, Cooper said, but not a lot of businesses are positioned in this niche market, while APT has the market almost all to themselves.
Oran Teater, branch manager for Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. in Bend, said the company’s timing was extraordinarily good. The Nasdaq did well in August overall, he said, and there has been a recovery of sorts in the chip makers industry.
Despite what Teater called a tough year for many technology companies, the demand for APT’s products is improving, he said. The stock’s performance came as a bit of a surprise, though.
“I’m personally surprised to see it go up 22 points,” Teater said. “But it’s great for the company.”
The company now operates in more than 64,000 square feet of office, research and silicon-processing space in Bend.
In 1993, the company acquired French manufacturer Power Compact. Advanced Power Technology employs 180 in Bend and 30 in Merignac, France.
The company’s worldwide revenue in 1999 was $27.5 million, up 10.5 percent from $24.9 million in 1998.
During the first six months of 2000, revenues were $19.6 million, compared to $12.4. million last year, said President and Chief Executive Officer Patrick Sireta.
The company’s total number of customers worldwide exceeds 750, Sireta said. U.S. sales in 1999 accounted for 57 percent of revenue, while 35 percent came from European customers.
Seven percent from Asian customers and 1 percent from elsewhere in the world, he said.
The fastest-growing segment of the market is in Asia, Sireta said, and the substantial capital resources created by the IPO will allow the company to accelerate its research and development, Sireta said.
Haugen agreed.
“Our goal is to continue to perform well financially and move forward and develop more products,” Haugen said.
Using the proceeds from the IPO, Haugen said the company has been able to pay off some debt, and the stock’s favorable performance will affect how Advanced Power Technology can function and create new products, he added.
“We now have a strong balance sheet and the resources for developing products or possible acquisitions,” Haugen said.
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