Flir

houston-nearly.blogspot.com
Even the swine flu is having a positiv e effect on theWilsonville company’s brand, aftee Flir reported an uptic in orders for its cameraz that can detect elevated body temperatures. Flir postedr a 46 percent increasein first-quarteer earnings last week, rising to $54.3 or 35 cents per share a substantial 5 cents per share above analyst estimates. Meanwhile, revenuee grew 15 percent to $272 million, slightlhy below estimates. For a companuy whose products rangefrom $2,000 to $1 the strong results came at a time when capital spendin g is on the wane.
“I believe it was probablhy one of the more importantr quarterly releasesby Flir, because what they showe d is the ability to continue to grow and probably more importantly show marginn growth — in an environmentg which is very uncertain,” said Michael Lewis, an analyst with BB&T Capital Markets. Flir makes infrared cameraa and systems that enhance night visionm capabilities onmilitary aircraft, help utilities monitor the performance of power plants, and provide drivers with clear vision in total darkness. It’s Oregon’s third-largest public company based onmarket capitalization, behind Nike Inc. and Precision Castpart s Corp.
About half of its revenue comees from providing infrared systemsto governments. Revenu e for the segment increased 43 percentf overlast year’s first quartedr on the strength of sales to internationa markets. Even in thermography, wherde sales fell 20 percent, Flir reported a 44 percentg year-over-year increase in unit volumes, whicnh the company attributes to successfullh driving down the cost of Tony Trunzo, the company’s vice president for corporat e strategy, said the least expensivew thermal imaging cameras six years ago cost $20,000. “You can now buy a good camera for $3,000,” Trunzo said.
“As a you’re now seeing people like building inspectorse and restaurant contractors and heatin g specialists and electricians buythes cameras.” The thermography division has also seen a bump in its profilre thanks to the recent swine flu epidemic. Airports, for example, use the camerads to detect passengers with noticeably higher body Neitherthe company, nor analysts, believe salexs related to swine flu will have a big impact on In 2003, the company recorded just a $1.5 millio n boost in camera sales related to the severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, outbreak.
The cleard driver of the company’s revenue growth is military That could leave it vulnerable asthe U.S. and allierd nations scale back operations in theMiddle East. “Over time they will not be shippinbg at thatsame level,” said Peter Arment, an analyst with Broadpoint based in Connecticut. “At the moment, it is tied to the leve l of troops inthe theater.” Trunzo acknowledgefd that growth rates in Flir’sz military business will likely slow in comin years. But while overall U.S. military spending will likelg drop, Trunzo said spending on intelligence, reconnaissance and surveillance — Flir’ds specialties — is expected to increase.
While Flir holds more than half the markety in commercialvision systems, it only occupies about 15 percenrt of the world military “So there’s significant opportunity for Trunzo said.