Unitronics First Quarter Results to 31 March 2015

May 21, 2015 | By Business Wire News

TEL AVIV, Israel

Unitronics 1989 (R.G.) Ltd (“Unitronics” or “the Company”) (Euronext: UNITB; TASE: UNIT), a leading global provider of industrial automation products, smart warehouses and automated parking solutions, announces its financial results for the first quarter ended 31 March 2015.

Q1 Financial Summary:

Revenue increased approximately 15% to NIS 46.5m (Q1 2014: NIS 40.5m)
Blended gross margin of 35.5% (Q1 2014: 28%)
Profit before tax amounted to NIS 7.9m (Q1 2014: NIS 0.4m)
Net profit of NIS 6.9m (Q1 2014: NIS 0.2m)
Cash and cash equivalents at 31 March 2015 were NIS 36m (31 December 2014: NIS 40m)

Q1 Operational Summary:

Increased sales in Products and Automated Parking divisions offset reduced sales in Systems division

Products Division

Solid progress made in all territories with good traction achieved with new product launched in Q4 2014
Two new products launched
Products division contributed approximately 60% of total sales

Systems Division

Completed a project in Israel
Good progress made in three projects underway
Systems division contributed approximately 21% of total sales

Automated Parking Division

Transformational quarter with the signing of a binding letter of intent (“LOI”) to build the largest automated car park in North America, with a project value of approximately US$24m
Good progress made in five projects underway and with several contracts at an early stage of development
Automated Parking division contributed approximately 18% of total sales

Commenting on the results, Haim Shani, Chief Executive Officer of Unitronics, said: “We are pleased with the progress made in this quarter as the Company achieved solid growth in its traditional business and a significantly increased contribution from the fastest growing segment in the business – the automated parking solutions.

“Looking ahead, the Company continues to grow the business in all its division and expects to complete the projects underway on time and on budget.”

Overview

Unitronics is pleased to report growth in revenue of 15% compared with the equivalent period last year. This is as a result of increased activity in the Products division, which, together with the significant growth in the Automated Parking division, more than offset reduced revenues in the Systems division. Blended gross margin improved 1,200 basis points to 37% in Q1 2015 compared with 25% in Q1 2014 primarily as a result of the product mix.

Products Division

This division provides programmable controllers that incorporate an operating panel and connectivity for the management of automated systems such as industrial automation, smart warehouses and automatic parking facilities. The division has distributors in approximately 60 countries globally.

In Q1 2015, revenues increased by 13.4% to approximately NIS 27.9m compared with Q1 2014 revenues of approximately NIS 24.6m. Operating profit margin amounted to 21% compared with 22% in Q1 2014. The division saw steady growth across all territories it serves as there was a positive response to its marketing activities as well an increase in sales of its new products – the Unistream 15.6” and Samba 4.3” – that were launched in Q4 2014.

During the quarter, the division launched two new products: the Samba7 and Vision430™. The Samba7,with a new 7-inch HMI panel, is an all-in-one, palm-size PLC with HMI and onboard I/Os, which satisfies the growing demand from OEMs on a tight budget who need compact controllers for simple machine control, but still want the competitive advantage of an elegant, color-touch HMI panel. The Vision430 is an all-in-one PLC with HMI and onboard I/Os with a 4.3” in-built colour touchscreen. The touchscreen and five function keys are housed in a flat fascia with an IP66/IP65/NEMA4X rating, making it particularly suitable for the food and pharmaceutical industries.

Systems Division

This division designs and maintains smart warehouses, and automated distribution centres, primarily to customers in Israel.

Revenues in Q1 2015 amounted to NIS 9.9m compared with NIS 12.1m for Q1 2014. In the period, the division completed a smart warehouse for a customer in the pharmaceutical industry. Additionally, the division continued to make good progress building smart warehouses for three existing customers mainly in the pharmaceutical and food & beverage industries.

Automated Parking Division

This division designs, develops and maintains automated parking systems. Currently, the division is focused on sales into the US and Israel.

The momentum achieved by this division in 2014 has been carried through to the new year with an approximately 130% growth in revenues to NIS 8.3m in Q1 2015 compared with NIS 3.7m in Q1 2014. In March 2015, the Company announced that the division signed a binding LOI with Prestige Properties Corp. for the design, supply and establishment of an automated parking system of 1,400 parking spaces in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. In accordance with the LOI, the project is valued at approximately US$24m (approximately NIS 96m). The division made significant progress with five projects already underway in the US and Israel during the quarter as well as with several projects that are in the early stages of being built. Additionally, it has signed another binding letter of intent for a new project in Canada. Looking ahead, the Company has an order book that is more than four times higher than at this time last year.

Financial Statements

The Company’s consolidated financial statements for Q1 2015 can be found in the investor section of the Unitronics website: http://www.unitronics.com/investors/financial-results