Thursday, Rofin-Sinar Technologies Inc. (RSTI) reported a first quarter profit that surged 47% from last year, as strong results in Europe and Asia offset slower activity in North America, sending its shares up more than 20% in Nasdaq.
The Plymouth, Michigan-based company reported net income for the quarter of $16.9 million or $0.53 per share, compared to $11.49 million or $0.36 per share in the year-ago quarter. The diluted earnings per share calculation reflects the stock split of December 5, 2007.
On average, analysts polled by First call/Thomson Financial expected the company to report $0.46 per share for the quarter.
Gross profit totaled $58.7 million, or 44% of net sales, compared to $45.9 million, or 41% of net sales in the same period of fiscal year 2007.
Quarterly net sales rose 21% to $134.69 million from $111.74 million in the prior year quarter. The impact of the weakening US-dollar, mainly against the Euro, resulted in an increase in net sales of $11.1 million in the first quarter. Five analysts had consensus revenue estimate of $128.22 million for the quarter.
Sales of laser products used for macro applications increased by 38% to $61.2 million from $44.19 million last year. Sales of lasers for marking and micro applications was $63.4 million, up 10%, while sales for components improved slightly to $10.1 million from $9.99 million a year ago.
Net sales in North America declined by 10% to $27.4 million, while net sales in Europe/Asia totaled $107.3 million, a 32% rise from the first quarter of fiscal 2007.
Order entry for the quarter of $157.9 million was at a new record high and resulted in an order backlog of $139.8 million on December 31, 2007.
Looking ahead to the second quarter, Rofin-Sinar Technologies expects second-quarter sales volume in range of $135 - $140 million and gross profit to be 42% - 43% of net sales, the company said in a conference call.
For fiscal year 2008, the laser- based solutions maker forecasts revenue between $540 million to $550 million, while seven Wall Street analysts estimate revenue of $540.54 million for fiscal 2008.
Peter Wirth, Executive Chairman of the Board of RSTI, said, " Our objective for the remainder of fiscal 2008 is to further capitalize on the strength of ROFIN's broad product portfolio, as well as its expanding global network that continues to be a key element of our future success."
