BTU's Ovens Sales Cool in Q1
NORTH BILLERICA, MA -- BTU International reported first-quarter net sales fell 41% from last year to $9.8 million while its net loss was $4.6 million, versus net income of $100,000 last year.
For the period ended March 29, sales were down 33% sequentially, while the net loss more than doubled.
The company's electronics business saw sales drop 70% versus the previous quarter.
In a press release, BTU chairman and CEO Paul van der Wansem said, “This was obviously a disappointing quarter. Our production ran below its capacity, impacting our margins. Coupled with an expectation of a slow recovery, the company recorded an inventory reserve of approximately $1 million, reducing our margins an additional 11%.
BTU's alternative energy business grew for the fifth straight quarter, and several new product introductions for both silicon- and thin film-based solar are on schedule and start ups will be taking place during the second quarter of 2009, he said.
At quarter's end, BTU had available cash of $26.6 million, down slightly from $27.5 million at the end of fiscal 2008.
van der Wansem said the "lack of clarity" among customers makes it "difficult to determine whether we have reached the bottom or to predict when we will see a meaningful upturn in our electronics equipment business."
