Profit, sales dive again at DeWitt’s Anaren

DeWITT — Profit fell more than 41 percent in the latest quarter at Anaren, Inc. (NASDAQ: ANEN) of DeWitt.

The company earned $2 million in its fiscal third quarter, which ended March 31, compared with $3.4 million a year earlier. Earnings per share for the period totaled 14 cents, down from 23 cents in the third quarter last year.

Net sales also fell, dropping more than 21 percent to $34.7 million. Anaren develops and manufactures components and subsystems for applications in sectors including satellite communications, defense, and wireless communications.

Sales in the company’s second quarter were down 17.7 percent and net income for that period was down 75 percent from the prior year.

“The reduction in revenue and profitability compared to the third quarter of last year resulted primarily from the lower sales levels as demand for wireless infrastructure products continued to be weak throughout the third quarter,” Anaren Chairman, President, and CEO Lawrence Sala said in a news release. “We continue to believe this decline in demand for wireless infrastructure products is temporary and customer forecasts show improving demand in the fourth quarter of this fiscal year.

“Profitability improved over second quarter levels, despite the lower sales volume, due to the aggressive actions taken in the first half of the fiscal year to reduce operating expenses. Given the reduction in operating expenses, the improving wireless customer forecasts, and the strong space and defense order backlog, we believe that we are well positioned for increased sales and profitability in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012.”

Anaren slashed its workforce of 1,000 employees by 15 percent since July, saving about $5 million on salaries and benefits. The company has locations in the Syracuse area, New Hampshire, Colorado, and China.

Contact Tampone at ktampone@cnybj.com