News

Advanced Energy Announces Third Quarter Results

November 01, 2011 by Jeff Shepard

Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. announced financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2011. The company posted third quarter sales of $128.5 million, operating income of 8.3% of sales and diluted earnings per share from continuing operations of $0.16. On a non-GAAP basis, income generated from operations was 10.7% of sales and earnings from our continuing operations on a per share basis were $0.21. The non-GAAP measures exclude the impact of the previously-announced $3.1 million restructuring charge recorded in the third quarter.

"Tenuous macroeconomic conditions coupled with continuing declines in capital equipment spending pressured our Thin Films business this quarter. We continue to see revenue growth in our Solar Energy business as orders increased and the deployment of our previously announced utility scale projects continued," said Garry Rogerson, Chief Executive Officer. "By taking pro-active measures to re-align our resources and cost structure, Advanced Energy will be better positioned to make strategic investments that we expect will extend our leadership and improve profitability in the future. During the quarter, cash increased by $9 million as working capital declined during the quarter."

Thin Films business unit sales were $76.8 million versus $103.6 million in the third quarter of 2010. On a sequential basis, Thin Films sales declined 21.1% from $97.3 million in the second quarter of 2011. Industry conditions across most of the company’s thin films end markets weakened this quarter. Semiconductor equipment sales slowed as manufacturers limited purchases due to low fab utilization rates. The thin film renewables market continued to experience panel overcapacity and pricing pressure, while the flat panel display market is undergoing a pause in investment as capacity comes on line.

Solar Energy business unit sales were $51.7 million in the quarter versus $37.4 million in the same period of 2010. On a sequential basis, Solar Energy sales increased 26.7% from $40.8 million in the second quarter of 2011. Despite the solar panel industry’s struggle with significant oversupply and ongoing price declines, inverter sales grew once again this quarter due to utility-scale shipments from large projects wins announced earlier this year.

Income from continuing operations was $7.2 million or $0.16 per diluted share, compared to income from continuing operations of $17.6 million or $0.40 per diluted share in the same period last year. Income from continuing operations was $13.5 million or $0.31 in the second quarter of 2011. On a non-GAAP basis, excluding the impact of the restructuring charge, continuing operations generated income for the quarter of $9.3 million or $0.21 per share.