Astronics (ATRO) Q4 2000 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Record 2000 sales of $71.968M, up 42.1% YoY; net income rose 27.1% to $6.095M and diluted EPS was $0.93.

• Growth was led by Aerospace and Electronics, particularly F-16 night-vision modifications; year-end backlog exceeded $40M, with about $35M scheduled to ship in 2001.

Financial highlights

• Revenue was $71.968M versus $50.637M in 1999; operating income was $9.608M, up 33.6% YoY.

• Net income increased to $6.095M from $4.795M; diluted EPS rose to $0.93 from $0.73.

• EBITDA exceeded $13M, or 18% of sales; return on equity exceeded 21%.

• Cost of products sold increased to 73.3% of sales; gross margin declined 2 percentage points YoY, reflecting mix and F-16 program ramp-up.

Outlook and guidance

• 2001 sales were expected to exceed $85M, supported by present and pending commitments; another very strong year was anticipated.

• F-16 program shipments of $24M were scheduled for 2001, compared with $18.3M of F-16 sales in 2000.

• Cash from operations and available revolving-credit capacity were expected to fund forecast 2001 working capital and capital expenditure needs.