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8-K - FORM 8K DATED MARCH 15, 2012 - SUTRON CORPform8k_17300.htm
EXHIBIT 99.1
 
 
March 15, 2012
 
Sutron Reports Fourth Quarter and Annual Earnings
 
March 15, 2012, Sterling, VA...Sutron Corporation (NASDAQ: STRN), a leading provider of hydrological, meteorological and oceanic monitoring products, systems and services, announced today its financial results for the three months and twelve months ended December 31, 2011.
 
Summary

For the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2011, net income was $699,469, or $.15 per share, as compared to net income of $1,284,617, or $.28 per share, in the fourth quarter in 2010.  Revenues for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2011 were $6,078,012 compared to $6,768,920 in the fourth quarter of 2010.  Gross profit for the fourth quarter of 2011 as a percentage of revenues was 39 percent as compared to 48 percent for the same quarter a year ago.  Operating expenses for the fourth quarter of 2011 were $1,430,141, as compared to operating expenses of $1,427,591 for the same quarter a year ago.

For the three months ended December 31, 2011, bookings were up 35 percent to $5,195,000 as compared to $3,859,000 in the fourth quarter of 2010.

Net income for the twelve months ended December 31, 2011 was $1,520,674 or $.33 per share compared to net income of $2,987,392 or $.65 per share.  Revenues for the twelve months ended December 31, 2011 were $20,222,369 compared to $22,975,600 in 2010.  Gross profit for the twelve months ended December 31, 2011 as a percentage of revenues was 39 percent as compared to 44 percent in 2010.  Operating expenses for the nine months ended December 31, 2011 were $5,767,125 as compared to operating expenses of $5,678,078 in 2010.

For the twelve months ended December 31, 2011, bookings were $18,074,000 as compared to bookings of $24,364,000 for the twelve months ended December 31, 2010. The backlog of customer orders at December 31, 2011 was $9,599,000 as compared to a backlog of $11,748,000 at December 31, 2010.
 
 
Outlook

“The fourth quarter was our best quarter of 2011”, said Raul McQuivey, Sutron’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, “and we were pleased by the 35 percent increase in our fourth quarter bookings which should provide an early boost to our 2012 performance.  This favorable fourth quarter trend for bookings was, as earlier reported, extended into the first quarter of 2012 including the $1,855,000 contract with Changjiang Spatial Information Technology Engineering Co. Ltd to provide dam safety monitoring of the Nuozhadu Hydropower Station, Yunnan Province, China.  As stated in previous releases, fluctuations in bookings and revenue are not uncommon to our business which is highly project driven and subject to governmental approval and funding processes.  However, we remain optimistic regarding our opportunities as we continue to see significant demand both domestically and internationally for our products and systems.”

 
 

 
“We believe that our strategic direction and market focus will help us grow our revenues and profits.  We are pleased to announce that our new products, Iridium-Link and GPRS-Link, were released for production during the first quarter of 2012.  These are integrated logger/telemetry products that provide low cost, two-way communication.  We expect that these products will expand our growth with both existing and new customers.”

“Our balance sheet remains strong with no debt and approximately $9.5 million of cash on hand, which positions us to fund our growth both organically and through select acquisitions.  We continue to explore accretive strategic acquisitions that will complement our business as well as to focus on revenue growth through strategic alliances.”

About Sutron Corporation

Sutron Corporation, headquartered in Sterling, Virginia, is a provider of products, systems, services and software to a diversified customer base of federal, state, local and foreign governments, engineering companies, universities and hydropower companies in the hydrological, meteorological and oceanic real-time data collection and control market.  We have sold over 60,000 stations worldwide that use satellite, telephone, or cellular telemetry to collect, store, and transmit real-time data from remote sites. Our data collection software allows users to collect, process, calculate, analyze and distribute their data in real time via voice, text, email, pager, web page, alerts and live web-cam. Our equipment and systems are designed to work seamlessly in open systems that provide excellent performance regardless of the number of field stations, sensors or base stations. Our operating results are project-driven and fluctuate substantially based upon large contract awards that are difficult to project in terms of timing.

Safe Harbor Statement

The statements in this press release that relate to future plans, events or performance are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Act of 1995.  Forward-looking statements include without limitation any statements regarding our expected future financial position, results of operations, cash flows, financing plans, business strategy, products and services, competitive positions, growth opportunities, plans and objectives of management for future operations, as well as statements that include words such as "anticipate," "if," "believe," "plan," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," “should” and other similar expressions are forward-looking statements.  All forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and contingencies which may cause actual results, performance, or achievements to differ materially from anticipated results, performance, or achievements.  Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include those set forth in our filings with the SEC, including the disclosure under the heading “Business” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on March 31, 2011. We are under no obligation to update or alter our forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

 
 

 
 
SUTRON CORPORATION FINANCIAL SUMMARY

 
   
(Unaudited)
 
   
For the Three Months
 
   
Ended December 31,
 
HIGHLIGHTS OF OPERATING RESULTS
 
2011
   
2010
 
             
Revenues
  $ 6,078,012     $ 6,768,920  
Cost of sales
    3,726,680       3,495,145  
Gross profit
    2,351,332       3,273,775  
Operating expenses
    1,430,141       1,427,591  
Operating income
    921,191       1,846,184  
Interest and other income
    37,278       3,433  
Income before income taxes
    958,469       1,849,617  
Income tax expense (benefit)
    259,000       565,000  
Net income
  $ 699,469     $ 1,284,617  
PER SHARE AMOUNTS:
               
Basic income per share
  $ 0.15     $ 0.28  
Diluted income per share
  $ 0.14     $ 0.26  
                 
       
       
       
       
   
(Audited)
 
   
For the Twelve Months
 
   
Ended December 31,
 
HIGHLIGHTS OF OPERATING RESULTS
    2011       2010  
                 
Revenues
  $ 20,222,369     $ 22,975,600  
Cost of sales
    12,326,085       12,880,664  
Gross profit
    7,896,284       10,094,936  
Operating expenses
    5,767,125       5,678,078  
Operating income
    2,129,159       4,416,858  
Interest and other income
    101,515       50,534  
Income before income taxes
    2,230,674       4,467,392  
Income tax expense (benefit)
    710,000       1,480,000  
Net income
  $ 1,520,674     $ 2,987,392  
PER SHARE AMOUNTS:
               
Basic income per share
  $ 0.33     $ 0.65  
Diluted income per share
  $ 0.31     $ 0.60  
 
 
 
 

 
BALANCE SHEETS

   
(Audited)
   
(Audited)
 
   
December 31,
   
December 31,
 
 
2011
   
2010
 
             
ASSETS
           
Current Assets:
           
     Cash and cash equivalents
  $ 8,737,543     $ 8,708,831  
     Restricted cash and cash equivalents
    760,037       796,189  
     Certificate of deposit
    924,294       919,130  
     Accounts receivable, net
    6,754,434       5,380,975  
     Inventory
    3,520,530       3,758,702  
     Prepaid items and other assets
    322,369       560,460  
     Income taxes receivable
    383,943        
     Deferred income taxes
    481,000       477,000  
          Total Current Assets
    21,884,150       20,601,287  
                 
Property and Equipment, Net
    1,524,880       1,706,971  
Other Assets
               
     Goodwill
    570,150       570,150  
     Other Assets
    103,591       108,769  
         Total Assets
  $ 24,082,771     $ 22,987,177  
                 
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
               
Current Liabilities:
               
     Accounts payable
  $ 799,007     $ 1,119,684  
     Accrued payroll
    337,563       490,197  
     Other accrued expenses
    1,573,409       1,543,086  
     Billings in excess of costs and estimated earnings
    201,015       361,699  
          Total Current Liabilities
    2,910,994       3,514,666  
Long-Term Liabilities
               
     Deferred rent
    1,127,860       1,234,385  
     Deferred income taxes
    69,000       99,000  
          Total Long-term Liabilities
    1,196,860       1,333,385  
          Total Liabilities
    4,107,854       4,848,051  
Stockholders’ Equity
               
     Common stock, 12,000,000 shares authorized;
               
         4,704,632 and 4,575,632 issued and outstanding
    47,047       45,757  
     Additional paid-in capital
    4,173,828       3,732,184  
     Retained earnings
    15,930,551       14,409,877  
     Accumulated other comprehensive loss
    (176,509 )     (48,692 )
         Total Stockholders’ Equity
    19,974,917       18,139,126  
         Total Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity
  $ 24,082,771     $ 22,987,177  



More information about Sutron, please visit:  www.sutron.com

Contacts

Sutron Corporation
Sidney Hooper, 703-406-2800
shooper@sutron.com