Magnetek, Inc. (NYSE:MAG) reported its results for the third quarter and first nine months of fiscal 2006, which ended on April 2, 2006. The Company's continuing operations recorded revenue of $57.2 million, compared to $57.0 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2005. Gross profit amounted to $12.4 million, compared to $14.2 million in the corresponding period a year ago. Gross profit as a percentage of sales decreased from the third quarter of last year as well as the second quarter of this year due primarily to manufacturing dislocations created by product-line moves and ramp-up inefficiencies associated with new products.
Third-quarter sales of power-electronic products increased sequentially from the second quarter of fiscal 2006, due to strengthening in embedded power supplies markets such as information technology, communications and consumer appliances. Due primarily to seasonal factors affecting industrial markets, sales of the Company's power-control systems declined in the third quarter. Power-electronic products accounted for 58% of Magnetek's revenues in the third quarter, while power-control systems accounted for 42% of revenues. Sales of Magnetek alternative energy interfaces and utility grid management systems reached $1.7 million in the third quarter, up 30% from the second quarter.
In April, Manhattan's largest functioning Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) power system began harvesting energy from the sun thanks to Magnetek solar inverter technology. Whitehall Ferry Terminal has been the home of the Staten Island Ferry for a century. Although designed for residential installations, Magnetek Aurora™ photovoltaic (PV) power inverters were chosen for the Whitehall Terminal BIPV project because of their wide input voltage range and their ability to glean energy from PV panels arrayed at different angles under varying light conditions.
Also in April, Magnetek announced that it has secured distribution agreements for its Aurora solar inverters with channel partners in Italy and Spain. These agreements are valued at more than $3 million in sales during calendar 2006, subject to demand and availability. Italy and Spain each have adopted solar PV incentive programs aimed at installing up to 100-megawatts (MW) of new solar energy capacity, emerging as the fourth and fifth largest potential solar power markets in the world.
