FLIR increases revenue and earnings and buys company
OCTOBER 29, 2007--Infrared-camera maker FLIR Systems (N. Billerica, MA, USA; www.flir.com) announced a 43% increase in third-quarter revenue and a 28% increase in quarterly profits. The company also announced its second recent acquisition and said its board has voted to split its stock, two-to-one.
FLIR also said that its revenue and profits for this year will surpass previous projections. The company now expects revenue to come in between $755 million and $770 million, with earnings of $1.73 to $1.78 per share. FLIR saw its stock rise immediately on its favorable news, jumping to more than $68 in the first few hours after the release of its earnings report. At the end of trading, shares were at $67.72, an increase of almost 15% from the end of trading on Wednesday.
FLIR's third-quarter revenue was $191.1 million, up from $133.2 million in the same quarter last year. Earnings were nearly $34.8 million, or $0.45/share, compared with earnings of $27 million, or $0.36/share, in last year's third quarter.
In the first nine months of this year, FLIR's revenue has increased 38%, to $536.8 million. Its earnings have increased 47%, to $0.1 million, or $1.18/share.
FLIR said it is buying Waltham, MA, test-and-measurement company Extech Instruments Corp. for $40 million cash. The family-owned company is profitable and had revenue of $39.2 million last year. FLIR decided to buy Extech to gain access to distribution channels such as catalog sellers for the lower-priced thermography products that FLIR intends to introduce next year.
Extech is FLIR's second recent acquisition. The company announced last month it will purchase a two-thirds interest in French infrared-camera maker Cedip Infrared Systems for a little more than $57 million. Owning a controlling interest in Cedip, which competes with FLIR in the market for high-end thermography cameras used in scientific research, will give FLIR better access to European and Asian markets, where Cedip enjoys good market share.