Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. announced financial results for the fourth quarter and the year ended December 31, 2015. Highlights include: Q4 Revenue and Non-GAAP operating income met expectations; 2015 Revenues increase 13% y/y; 2015 EPS from continuing operations increased 20% y/y; Inverter wind down complete and results included in discontinued operations; and Completed $50M accelerated share repurchase.
Sales were $86.9 million compared with $109.8 million in the third quarter of 2015 and $110.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2014. GAAP income from continuing operations, net of income taxes, was $11.5 million or $0.28 per diluted share in the fourth quarter 2015 compared to $23.3 million or $0.56 per diluted share in the third quarter, and $23.3 million or $0.57 per diluted share in the fourth quarter 2014.
“2015 was a year of many accomplishments. Semiconductor revenues reached record highs and we achieved double digit growth in revenues, operating income and EPS from continuing operations. All this, despite the industry-wide pause in sales to semiconductor applications in the fourth quarter, which was offset in part by counter-seasonal service sales and the ongoing diversity of our industrial applications,†said Yuval Wasserman, President and CEO of Advanced Energy. “With the wind down of inverters now complete, we turn our focus to addressing the growing number of critical applications for our precision power products and technologies. Our continuing strong cash generation is enabling us to pursue these opportunities while simultaneously repurchasing shares and returning value to our shareholders.â€
Non-GAAP income from continuing operations, net of income taxes, was $13.0 million or $0.32 per diluted share in the fourth quarter 2015 compared to $25.0 million or $0.61 per diluted share in the third quarter of 2015, and $26.2 million or $0.64 per diluted share in the same period last year. A reconciliation of non-GAAP measures is provided in the tables below.
The company ended the quarter with $170.4 million in cash and marketable securities, a sequential decrease of $23 million, after utilizing $50 million for the accelerated stock repurchase launched in the fourth quarter.
As a result of the completion of the wind down of the solar inverter business, the company’s financial statements for all periods presented reflect results for the continuing precision power business, with the discontinued inverter business included in discontinued operations for both the balance sheet and income statement. Further financial detail regarding the amounts related to this will be available in the company’s 2015 Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Based on the company's current view, beliefs and assumptions, guidance for the first quarter of 2016 is within the following ranges: Revenues, $90M to $100M; Non-GAAP EPS from continuing operations, $0.40 to $0.50; and Non-GAAP operating margin 23% to 25%.
