Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. announced financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2015. The company reported first quarter sales of $141.1 million compared with $152.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2014 and $140.9 million in the first quarter of 2014. Net income was $21.3 million or $0.52 per diluted share. On a non-GAAP basis, adjusted net income was $23.6 million or $0.57 per diluted share. A reconciliation of non-GAAP net income and earnings per share is provided in the tables below. The company ended the quarter with $155.9 million in cash and marketable securities, a sequential increase of $27.5 million.
"With another record quarter in our semiconductor applications and a mix shift to higher margin products we drove significantly higher profitability this quarter," said Yuval Wasserman, President and CEO of Advanced Energy. "Our agile business model and diversity of applications allow us to effectively respond to changing market dynamics. With an enhanced management team, a growing number of opportunities in current and target applications and ongoing global expansion, we are building upon our leadership position in precision power products."
Precision Power Products sales were $105.8 million in the first quarter of 2015, essentially in-line with $105.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2014 and a 27.7% increase from $82.9 million in the first quarter of 2014. These results were due to record semiconductor sales and were partially offset by cyclicality in our industrial and flat panel display applications.
Inverter sales were $35.3 million in the first quarter of 2015, down 24.7% from $46.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2014, and down 39.3% from $58.1 million in the first quarter of 2014. Solar inverters were impacted by seasonality, pricing pressure and the effect on sales of our pursuit of strategic alternatives for this business.
Net income for the first quarter of 2015 was $21.3 million or $0.52 per diluted share, compared with net income of $9.3 million or $0.23 per diluted share in the fourth quarter of 2014, and $14.7 million or $0.35 per diluted share in the first quarter last year. On a non-GAAP basis adjusted net income this quarter increased to $23.6 million or $0.57 per diluted share from $20.6 million or $0.50 per diluted share in the fourth quarter of 2014, and $18.1 million or $0.43 per diluted share in the same period last year.
Based on the company's current view, guidance for the second quarter of 2015 is within the following ranges: Sales of $126 million to $136 million; GAAP earnings per share of $0.32 to $0.36; and Non-GAAP earnings per share of $0.38 to $0.41.
