BURLINGTON, ONTARIO: Canadian broadcast equipment maker Evertz Technologies posted fiscal first-quarter profits ahead of expectations. For F1Q11, ending July 31, 2010, Evertz logged net income of C$20.6 million (US$18.8 million) or 28 cents Canadian a share, compared with C$17 million (US$16.3 million), or 23 cents Canadian a share, a year earlier. Sales rose 2 percent to C$73.8 million (US$70.8 million).
Analysts on average were predicting earnings of 25 cents Canadian a share on revenue of C$74.2 million, according to Thomson Reuters.
Gross margin on sales was 58 percent compared to 60 percent a year ago. Operating expenses comprised 11.4 percent of sales. R&D expenses increased 10 percent over a year ago, by C$700,000 (US$641,000).
Evertz finished the quarter with C$151 million (US$144.8 million) in cash, up from C$145 million (US$139 million) a year ago. Back log at the end of August 2010 was more than C$32 million (US$30.7 million); August shipments exceeded C$26 million (US$24.9 million). The board declared a per-share dividend of 10 cents Canadian Sept. 8, up from 8 cents Canadian.
Shares of Evertz were trading at C$16.28 in mid-afternoon trading on the Toronto Exchange. The company reported a single $7 million sale in late July.(All exchange rates current for Sept. 9, 2010)
-- Deborah D. McAdams
