Mercury Computer Systems up on Q1 profit
Shares of Mercury Computer Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: MRCY) are jumping on news after the close on Wednesday that the company swung to a profit in the first quarter of fiscal 2008.
Net income for the three months ended Sept. 30 was $2 million, or $0.09 per share, compared with a net loss of $3.5 million, or $0.17 per share, during the same period of fiscal 2007. Three analysts polled by Thomson Financial were expecting the Chelmsford, Mass.-based company to post a net loss of $0.09 per share.
Revenue for the quarter was essentially unchanged, coming in at $49.2 million, compared with $48.9 million a year earlier. Analysts were looking for revenues of $47.5 million.
“The results for the first quarter are very encouraging,” said president and CEO Jay Bertelli in a statement. Bertelli explained that the improvement is evidence that the company’s restructuring and cost reduction activities are bearing fruit.
Looking ahead, Mercury Computer Systems, which provides computing systems and software for data-intensive applications such as signal processing and visualization, raised its fiscal 2008 guidance.
The company now expects earnings of $0.33 per share, almost twice the previous estimate of $0.17 per share in net income. The improvement is due to a stronger gross margin as a result of a more favorable product mix and lower inventory expenses.
At 1:07 p.m. ET, shares of Mercury Computer Systems, Inc. (MRCY) were up $2.61, or 24%, to $13.49. That’s approaching the 52-week high of $14.66, which was reached on April 16. The 52-week low of $10.13 was established on Sept. 28.
