Income, sales rise at Anaren

DeWITT — Profit rose to $3.5 million, or 27 cents a share, in the fiscal second quarter at Anaren, Inc. (NASDAQ: ANEN) from $1.2 million, or 8 cents a share, a year earlier.

The DeWitt–based company released its second quarter results Jan. 22. Net sales increased 6.3 percent to $38 million for the period.

Anaren employs about 800 people. The company develops and manufactures components and subsystems for markets including satellite communications, defense, and wireless communications.

Anaren has locations in the Syracuse area, New Hampshire, Colorado, and China.

Operating profit improved at the company as sales rose, but expenses remained stable, Anaren CFO George Blanton said during a Jan. 23 conference call on the quarterly results. Operating income for the period was $6.3 million, up from $2.7 million in the company’s second quarter last year.

Operating expenses for the period totaled $9.9 million, even with a year earlier. The company implemented cost-cutting efforts during its 2012 fiscal year, including job cuts.

The firm began eliminating positions in July 2011 and reduced its workforce by about 19 percent.

Sales in Anaren’s wireless group totaled $12.8 million in the second quarter, up 19 percent from a year earlier, but down 2.7 percent from the first quarter. The company said it continued to see softness in its wireless infrastructure market.

On the space and defense side, sales totaled $25.2 million, up 0.8 percent from a year earlier. Anaren expects higher space and defense sales in the second half of its 2013 fiscal year as production ramps up on a major radar project the company has been working on.

Company leaders continue to look for potential acquisitions, especially for the space and defense business, Anaren Chairman, President, and CEO Lawrence Sala said during the conference call. The firm is focused on trying to expand its product portfolio in that arena, he said.

Anaren continues to see strong growth potential in its defense business, Sala added. A number of current radar applications are transitioning to a new type of technology where Anaren has a strong track record, he said.

The technology could eventually be deployed on surface ships, fighter aircraft, and in other airborne applications, Sala said. Such programs would represent major opportunities for Anaren.

The company also should see continued work in transitioning ground-based radar systems to the new technology.

Sala also said during the conference call that one of Anaren’s recent new products is taking longer than expected to catch on. The product, Anaren Integrated Radio (AIR) modules, can add wireless capabilities to electronic devices.

“This business has definitely fallen short of our expectations,” Sala said.

The space, he added, is a relatively new one for Anaren and the company is working with a new set of customers on the AIR modules.

“We don’t have a good history of being able to predict what customers are doing and when they are going to ramp up,” Sala said.

The firm expected the product to be generating its current level of activity about a year ago, he added. The modules have been on the market for about two years now.

Still, Sala noted that a number of customers are now moving into volume-level production of AIR modules. The company is seeing a steady stream of new business coming in as well.

“We’re seeing acceleration at the front end and the back end,” Sala said.

AIR modules generate about $1 million a year in revenue for the company, a total Sala said should grow to $2 million as the company moves into its next fiscal year.

Contact Tampone at ktampone@cnybj.com