Knobias Clip Report (12-17-2008) APSG
Submitted By Knobias ClipReport
APSG: CEO Discusses Record FY08 Revenues and Growth Opportunities in FY09
By Fain Hughes, fhughes@knobias.com
Applied Signal Technology, Inc. (APSG) announced operating results after the bell on Tuesday for the fiscal fourth quarter and fiscal year ended October 31, 2008.
During the fourth quarter, the Company reported $48.4 million in revenue and $0.20 of earnings per diluted share, increases of 4.6% and 5.3%, respectively, versus the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007. For the full fiscal year, the Company reported that revenues increased to a record level of $186.3 million versus the fiscal 2007 level of $170.4 million. Diluted earnings per share for the fiscal year increased 14.5% to $0.63 versus the fiscal 2007 level of $0.55 per diluted share.
William Van Vleet, President and CEO of Applied Signal Technology, commented in a conference call, “We grew our FY08 sales to record levels. The trends in our niche defense markets remain strong, and we continue to have significant organic growth opportunities. Our bottom line performance was even stronger. Our mix of business has shifted to carry more favorable margins that contributed to our profitability improvement. We believe that fiscal 2008 will come to be regarded as a pivotal year in our history.”
He continued, “The Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance market continues to grow, and we have a firm foundation in our core SIGINT business. We expect to see the goverment largely recapitalize its existing SIGINT equipment with upgraded technology over the next several years. As a result, we see contract activity remaining strong in our core space. We believe the mix of products and our consolidated revenue will increase. We also have a number of successful engineering development programs in the broadband communication systems market. We believe that we will see new and potentially significant program opportunities in this market in fiscal 2009. We have also seen success in our sensor technology business, which we expect to become more important to the Company in fiscal 2009.”
Mr. Van Vleet added, “Financially, we are very strong. Our balance sheet at year-end had nearly $60 million in cash and investments. We are generating cash and believe that we will see continued growth in revenue, earnings and cash flow. We are also pleased to continue to provide a significant dividend to our shareholders, which we consider particularly important in this turbulent financial environment.”
Visit 1800blogger to see all of our industry leading blogs.
