Mikron Infrared reports results for first-quarter FY2007

MARCH 14--Mikron Infrared (Oakland, NJ, USA; www.mikroninfrared.com) first-quarter sales were the highest achieved in any first quarter, according to the company. Sales of $8,890,795 for the first quarter of FY2007 were 6.6% higher than the $8,343,001 of sales achieved during the same quarter in FY2006. Operating income decreased from $1,328,259 in the first quarter of FY2006 to $1,119,088 for the first quarter of FY2007, a 16% quarter-to-quarter comparative decrease. Both basic and fully diluted earnings per share were $0.13 for the first quarter of FY2007, compared to $0.14 for the first quarter of FY2006.

Gerry Posner, Mikron president, commented: "The first quarter of FY2007 has shown robust growth in fixed single-point sales. Mikron's European units continued to outperform last year's sales, while North American operations have experienced a decline in sales compared to the first quarter last year. This resulted in an increase over the comparable quarter last year of 11% in sales. We were also pleased to see our gross margin increase from 54.8% in the first quarter of FY2006 to 57.3% in the first fiscal quarter of 2007. This increase is attributed to product mix and a fuller absorption of overhead at the higher sales level. Total sales remained sequentially flat, with the previous two quarters reflecting the more difficult sales environment in the portable thermal-imaging segment of our business."

Dennis Stoneman, Mikron executive vice president, said: "We continue to experience pricing pressures in our portable thermal-imaging product line. This has led us to focus more of our attention to our fixed thermal-imaging business, where we are selling complete systems."

Paul Kohmescher, Mikron chief financial officer, stated: "In the first quarter of FY2007, Mikron's operating income was adversely impacted by almost $300,000 of expenses related to our recently announced agreement to sell the company."

Mikron Infrared, founded in 1969, is a developer, manufacturer, and marketer of infrared noncontact temperature-measurement devices, temperature sensors, calibration sources, and thermal-imaging systems.