- Planar Systems, Inc. reported financial results for the fiscal fourth quarter and year ended September 26, 2014.
- Digital Signage (DS) product sales increased 18% from the prior quarter and 42% from the same year-ago quarter to $25.2 million. Commercial and Industrial (C&I) product sales increased 26% from the prior quarter and 2% from the same year-ago quarter to $28.4 million.
- Non-GAAP net income totaled $3.1 million or $0.14 per diluted share, an improvement from $1.0 million or $0.05 per diluted share in the same year-ago quarter.
- EBITDA, a non-GAAP metric, increased 117% from the prior quarter and 116% from the same year-ago quarter to $3.5 million.
- Regarding fiscal Q4 financial results, total revenue increased 17% year on year to $53.6 million compared to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013. Revenue was driven by a 42% increase in sales of DS products, which totaled $25.2 million in the fourth fiscal quarter of 2014, compared to $17.7 million in the same period a year ago. Sales of C&I products increased 2% to $28.4 million compared to $28.0 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013.
- Consolidated gross profit margin as a percentage of sales (on a non-GAAP basis) was 26%, an increase from 22% in the fourth quarter of 2013 (see reconciliation table, below). The improvement was due to an increase in sales of higher margin DS products, as well as higher gross profit rates on sales of DS products compared to the prior year-ago quarter.
- Non-GAAP operating expenses were $10.7 million compared to $9.1 million in the same quarter last year, primarily due to higher sales and marketing expenses.
- GAAP net income totaled $2.2 million or $0.10 per diluted share, an improvement from a GAAP net loss of $207,000 or $(0.01) in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013.
- Non-GAAP net income totaled $3.1 million or $0.14 per diluted share, an improvement from non-GAAP net income of $1.0 million or $0.05 per diluted share in the same year-ago quarter.
- Non-GAAP EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, and amortization of non-cash stock-based compensation) increased 116% to $3.5 million from $1.6 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013.
- At quarter-end, the company’s cash balance was $13.1 million, an increase of 13% compared to $11.5 million at June 27, 2014.
- For the entire 2014 fiscal year, total revenue increased 7% to $179.0 million compared to fiscal 2013, driven by a 36% increase in the sale of DS products, which totaled $84.5 million compared to $62.1 million a year ago. The increase in total revenue was partially offset by a 10% decrease in sales of C&I products to $94.5 million compared to fiscal 2013. The anticipated decrease in C&I revenue was primarily due to lower sales of touch monitors and high-end home products, partially offset by higher sales of custom C&I displays.
- Consolidated gross profit margin as a percentage of sales (on a non-GAAP basis) increased to 25% from 22% in the fiscal year of 2013.
- Non-GAAP operating expenses were $38.5 million compared to $37.6 million in fiscal 2013. The increase was primarily due to higher sales and marketing expenditures.
- GAAP net income totaled $3.8 million or $0.18 per diluted share, an improvement from a GAAP net loss of $6.5 million or $(0.31) in fiscal 2013.
- Non-GAAP net income totaled $5.8 million or $0.27 per diluted share, a significant improvement from non-GAAP net income of $387,000 or $0.02 per diluted share in fiscal 2013.
- Non-GAAP EBITDA increased 305% to $7.9 million from $1.9 million in fiscal 2013.
- “In fiscal 2014, we made significant progress on our strategic transformation into a higher-growth and more profitable company,” said Gerry Perkel, the company’s president and chief executive officer. “This was evident from the several milestones we achieved for the year, including record digital signage product sales, significant gross profit improvement, and company-wide profitability.
- “Looking ahead, our expectations for fiscal 2015 remain high as we build on the operational and financial momentum we achieved last year. We continue to expect strong growth in our digital signage products, which we believe will drive higher gross profits and EPS expansion.”
- Planar expects to see continued strong revenue growth from digital signage and custom C&I products in the fiscal first quarter of 2015. Therefore, the company anticipates revenue in the fiscal first quarter of 2015 to range between $55 million and $58 million, which would represent total revenue growth of 36% to 43% compared to the first fiscal quarter of 2014. Non-GAAP net income for the first fiscal quarter of 2015 is expected to range between $0.15 and $0.18 per share, compared to $0.05 per share in the first quarter of fiscal 2014.
