Fields Aircraft Spares Announces Record Fourth-Quarter; Sales Jump 132 Percent
SIMI VALLEY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 8, 1998--Fields Aircraft Spares Inc. (NASDAQ:FASI) Wednesday announced that sales for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, 1997 increased 132 percent to $3,657,000, compared with sales for the same quarter in 1996 of $1,576,000.
Net earnings for the quarter increased to a profit of $229,000, or $0.08 per share primary ($0.08 fully diluted), from a loss of ($388,000) or a loss of $0.19 per share primary ($0.19 fully diluted) in 1996.
The continued increase in sales is directly attributable to Fields' ongoing aftermarket aircraft inventory management and supply program. Under this program, the company enters into agreements with aircraft component manufacturers to buy, at negotiated prices, parts used in the repair of aircraft.
The company then enters into arrangements with air carriers and aircraft overhaul facilities to supply these needed parts, using the customer's own maintenance records to forecast demand.
As a result of this program, the company eliminates the need for the air carrier to hold parts inventories, provides timely access to parts to keep aircraft flying and allows the manufacturer more effective scheduling of replacement part production and shipment.
For the year ended Dec. 31, 1997 the company reported sales of $12,101,000, over double the sales of $5,734,000 reported in 1996. For 1997, the company reported a net loss of $147,000 or a net loss of $0.07 per share primary ($0.06 fully diluted), as compared with net loss of $242,000 or $0.13 per share primary ($0.13 fully diluted), for the year ended Dec. 31, 1996.
Commenting on the 1997 results, Lawrence Troyna, chief financial officer, said, "When you consider that the 1996 results included a $949,000 gain relating to the settlement of an insurance claim and 1997 included a non-operating expense of $340,000 relating to the accelerated write-off of capitalized loan costs, the improvement in 1997 is even more dramatic."
Alan Fields, president and chief executive officer, said, "We are very pleased with the continued increase in sales. Our strategy of entering into arrangements with major air carriers has paid off in dramatically improved bottom-line performance."
Looking forward, Fields said: "We are making more progress than ever with our goal of developing a company with a specialty in the niche area of cabin interior parts, and continue to implement our acquisition plan. Our goal is to make and sell the full range of aircraft cabin replacement parts, from storage compartment latches to plastic components for seats and interiors.
"We have already completed the acquisition of Flightways Manufacturing and hope to close our second acquisition sometime in April 1998, and have plans for additional acquisitions before the year end.
"Our sales growth continued in the first quarter of 1998, a trend that we fully expect to continue through the remainder of the year. We do, however, want to inform our shareholders that earnings in the first quarter of fiscal 1998 will not be as robust as earnings in the fourth quarter of fiscal 1997.
"Although we do expect to be profitable in the first quarter, certain events occurred, which we believe will have a negative effect on earnings during the quarter.
"First, and not unexpected, we incurred certain direct and indirect expenses relative to the acquisition of Flightways.
"Second, a customer rescheduled delivery of a major order from February to April, and third, our suppliers placed us in a backorder position on a number of shipments, which meant we were unable to ship certain products to our customers.
"The good news is that the delayed shipments and backorders will add to both revenues and earnings during the remainder of the year."
Fields Aircraft Spares Inc., through its wholly owned subsidiaries Fields Aircraft Spares Incorporated, Fields Aero Management Inc. and Flightways Manufacturing Inc., is a manufacturer and a leading distributor of aircraft cabin interior replacement products and is a broker for a wide variety of factory new parts applicable to various commercial aircraft models and manufacturers.
Additional information about Fields, including access to copies of its periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, is available on the company's Web site at fieldsair.com.
Statements in this news release that relate to future plans, financial results or projections, events or performance are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. Actual results may differ from such forward-looking statements as a result of a number of factors, including but not limited to competitive factors and pricing pressures, ability to obtain necessary capital or financing, the price and availability of aircraft parts and other materials, successful execution of the Company's expansion plans, including the ability to complete contemplated acquisitions and to successfully combine the businesses, failure to maintain existing customer or vendor relationships, shifts in market demand, general economic conditions and other risks and uncertainties discussed in periodic reports filed by the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission and which the company urges investors to consider. Copies of filed reports may be requested from the company or obtained from the company's Web site.
FIELDS AIRCRAFT SPARES INC.
CONDENSED FINANCIAL DATA
Three months ended 12 months ended
Dec. 31, Dec. 31,
1997 1996 1997 1996
Net sales $3,657,000 $1,576,000 $ 12,101,000 $ 5,734,000
Cost of sales 2,078,000 878,000 7,214,000 2,975,000
Gross margin 1,579,000 698,000 4,887,000 2,759,000
Operating expenses 921,000 756,000 3,349,000 2,608,000
Operating income (loss) 658,000 (58,000) 1,538,000 151,000
Other expense (income):
Casualty gain -- (40,000) -- (949,000)
Interest expense, net 427,000 369,000 1,676,000 1,338,000
Total other expense
(income) 427,000 329,000 1,676,000 389,000
Income (loss) before
income tax 231,000 (387,000) (138,000) (238,000)
Income taxes 2,000 1,000 9,000 4,000
Net Income (loss) $229,000 $(388,000) $(147,000) $(242,000)
Net Income (loss)
per share --
primary $ 0.08 $ (0.19) $ (0.07) $ ( 0.13)
Net Income (loss)
per share --
fully diluted $ 0.08 $ (0.19) $ (0.06) $ ( 0.13)
Shares outstanding --
primary 2,866,062 2,056,882 2,262,578 1,840,542
Shares outstanding --
fully diluted 2,944,952 2,056,882 2,325,078 1,840,542
CONTACT: Fields Aircraft Spares Inc., Simi Valley
Alan Fields, 805/583-0080
or
Coffin Communications Group, Sherman Oaks, Calif.
Michael S. Manahan, 818/789-0100 |
