AeroVironment, Inc. Announces Fiscal 2012 Second Quarter Results

MONROVIA, Calif., Dec 06, 2011  AeroVironment, Inc. AVAV -0.22% today reported financial results for its second quarter ending October 29, 2011.

“Continued demand for our unmanned aircraft and efficient energy systems, combined with effective execution by our team, produced second quarter revenue of $80.4 million, a year-over-year increase of 26%, and earnings per diluted share of $0.30, up from $0.01 a year ago,” said Tim Conver, AeroVironment chairman and chief executive officer. “Backlog of $116.4 million is up 60% quarter-over-quarter and, combined with first half revenue of $142 million, provides good visibility into 75% of our full year performance guidance,” said Tim Conver.

Conver added, “Our small unmanned aircraft systems remain high value tools that directly empower the warfighter at a fraction of the cost of larger systems. Continued expansion of our electric vehicle solutions rollout and the first announced deployment order for Switchblade agile munitions systems in September highlight the continued progress of two potentially significant long-term growth drivers for the business. Even with the funding uncertainty affecting U.S. government procurement today, I am excited about AeroVironment’s value proposition and our long-term growth prospects.”

FISCAL 2012 SECOND QUARTER RESULTS

Revenue for the second quarter of fiscal 2012 was $80.4 million, up 26% over second quarter fiscal 2011 revenue of $63.8 million. The increase in revenue resulted from increased sales in our Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) segment of $13.3 million and in our Efficient Energy Systems (EES) segment of $3.3 million.

Income from operations for the second quarter of fiscal 2012 was $9.6 million, an increase of $9.2 million from second quarter fiscal 2011 income from operations of $0.4 million. The increase in income from operations resulted from higher gross margin of $8.9 million and lower selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expense of $0.4 million, offset by higher research and development (R&D) expense of $0.1 million.

Net income for the second quarter of fiscal 2012 was $6.6 million, an increase of $6.3 million from second quarter fiscal 2011 net income of $0.3 million.

Earnings per diluted share for the second quarter of fiscal 2012 were $0.30, an increase of $0.29 from second quarter fiscal 2011 earnings per diluted share of $0.01.

FISCAL 2012 YEAR-TO-DATE RESULTS

Revenue for the first six months of fiscal 2012 was $142.4 million, up 40% from the first six months of fiscal 2011 revenue of $102.0 million. The increase in revenue resulted from higher sales in our UAS segment of $32.1 million and in our EES segment of $8.3 million.

Income from operations for the first six months of fiscal 2012 was $10.0 million, an increase of $16.9 million from the first six months of fiscal 2011 loss from operations of $6.9 million. The increase in income from operations resulted from higher gross margin of $18.5 million and lower R&D expense of $0.3 million, offset by higher SG&A expense of $1.9 million.

Net income for the first six months of fiscal 2012 was $6.9 million, an increase of $10.1 million from the first six months of fiscal 2011 net loss of $3.2 million.

Earnings per diluted share for the first six months of fiscal 2012 were $0.31, an increase of $0.46 from the first six months of fiscal 2011 loss per share of $0.15.

BACKLOG

As of October 29, 2011, funded backlog (unfilled firm orders for which funding is currently appropriated to us under a customer contract) was $116.4 million compared to $82.9 million as of April 30, 2011.

FISCAL 2012 — OUTLOOK FOR THE CURRENT QUARTER AND FULL YEAR

For the third quarter of fiscal year 2012, the Company expects revenue of $80 to $90 million, and earnings per share of $0.35 to $0.45 on a fully diluted basis.

For fiscal year 2012, the Company reiterates its revenue guidance of $321 million to $336 million, and earnings per share of $1.28 to $1.35 on a fully diluted basis.

The foregoing estimates are forward looking and reflect management’s view of current and future market conditions, including certain assumptions with respect to our ability to obtain and retain government contracts, changes in the demand for our products and services, activities of competitors and changes in the regulatory environment, and general economic and business conditions in the United States and elsewhere in the world. Investors are reminded that actual results may differ materially from these estimates.