Kitron Sees Big Jump in Q2 Sales
BILLINGSTAD, NORWAY -- Kitron today reported second-quarter revenue rose 15% year-over-year to NOK 563 million ($67 million).
Operating profit (EBIT) was up 50% to NOK 33.1 million, while net profit rose 61% to NOK 21.4 million ($2.55 million).
Adjusted for currency exchange effects, sales were up 10% from 2015.
Order backlogs ended the June quarter at NOK 989 million, up 19% compared to last year.
In a statement, Kitron CEO Peter Nilsson said, "This was an all-round strong quarter for Kitron's operations. All key figures improved significantly, both compared to last year and to the preceding quarter. The substantial order backlog underpins our positive outlook for the rest of the year."
Industrial sales were up 37%, offset in part by lower revenue from offshore/marine products, due to the general downturn in the oil service market. Within other sectors, growth was solid.
Due to the strong revenue growth, Kitron decided to increase production capacity by investing in two new SMT lines, one in Lithuania and one in Sweden. They will be in place in the fourth quarter in Lithuania and in the first quarter 2017 in Sweden.
Kitron said it may furlough some employees in Norway in the current quarter to compensate for the longer-term downturn in the offshore/marine sector.
For 2016, Kitron expects revenue of NOK 2.05 billion and 2.25 billion and EBITDA margin of 5.3 to 6.3%.
Ed: 1 NOK = $0.119032
