The US coatings company Southwall Technologies Inc. reported a net income of US$ 602,000 or US$ 0.08 per share, on record net revenues of almost US$ 11.7 million for the second quarter ended 29 June 1…
The US coatings company Southwall Technologies Inc. reported a net income of US$ 602,000 or US$ 0.08 per share, on record net revenues of almost US$ 11.7 million for the second quarter ended 29 June 1997. For the same period a year ago, the company reported a net income of US$ 704,000 or US$ 0.10 per share, on net revenues of US$ 10.99 million. For the first six months of 1997, Southwall recorded a net income of US$ 1.37 million, or US$ 0.18 per share, on record net revenues of US$ 22.54 million. This compares to a net income of US$ 1.2 million, or US$ 0.18 per share on net revenues of about US$ 21.63 million for the same period last year. Net income figures for the second quarter and first half of 1997 were reduced by around US$ 370,000 and US$ 548,000 respectively for start-up expenses related to the company“s new manufacturing facility under construction in Tempe, Arizona. Without the start-up expenses, net income would have been US$ 972,000 or US$ 0.13 per share for the quarter just ended, and about US$ 1.92 million or US$ 0.26 per share for the first half. Martin Schwartz, President and CEO of Southwall, said that the company is pleased with the overall results although second quarter earnings did not match expectations. The firm achieved record sales for the quarter despite some weakness in sales of its Heat Mirror window film. Instead, the automotive OEM and solar control films sector reached an excellent sales growth in the second quarter of 1997 as the company shipped record volumes to an expanding customer base. Margins in the latest quarter were slightly lower than in the first quarter because of the product mix, the continued expensing of the start-up costs of the Tempe plant, and the ramp up of Southwall“s production of solar control films for the automotive industry. Regarding the Tempe plant, the CEO said: “During the quarter, we made excellent progress on the Tempe expansion project and took possession of the facility on 27 June and immediately began the installation of the machinery. Our plan is to commission production in September and to begin the delivery of the product for Sony on schedule. Mr. Schwartz went on to say: “We are optimistic that our long term results will reflect the considerable progress made in the latest quarter in manufacturing, distribution and the financial management of the business”.