Astronics Corporation (NASDAQ: ATRO) stock fell 10.67% on 16th June, 2019 and continued its bearish momentum falling over 3.7% (as of 12:12 pm GMT-4; Source: Google finance)
The company announced that Kevin T. Keane, a member of its Board of Directors for nearly 50 years and Board Chairman for 45 years, passed away on June 10, 2019 in Buffalo, NY. Peter J. Gundermann, President and Chief Executive Officer, was appointed Chairman of the Board.
On the other hand, ATRO had recently released the new ME1000 family of mPCIe avionics interface cards for embedded aerospace applications. The ME1000 provides the highest amount of 1553 I/O in the compact mPCIe form-factor and is the only line to offer a concurrent RS-422/485 serial interface. The ME1000 is a new mPCIe card designed and built by Astronics Ballard Technology, a wholly owned subsidiary of Astronics Corporation. These rugged cards interface with MIL-STD-1553 databuses and enable host devices, such as small form factor mission computers, to reliably communicate with and monitor avionics equipment.
Additionally, ATRO has adopted a 10b5-1 plan to facilitate the purchase of shares during periods when it may otherwise be prevented from acting due to securities laws and self-imposed blackout periods. Any such purchases would be made under the company’s previously announced share repurchase authorization. Effective June 4, 2019, repurchases made under the plan are subject to Securities and Exchange Commission’s regulations, as well as certain price, market, volume, and timing considerations specified in the plan. Since repurchases under the plan are subject to such constraints, there is no guarantee as to the exact number of shares, if any, that will be repurchased under the plan. The plan has been established pursuant to the authorization by the Company’s Board of Directors for the Company to repurchase up to $50 million in common stock, which had been announced on December 18, 2017.
Meanwhile, the adjusted consolidated sales were up 19.1%, or $32.8 million, demonstrating growth in both the Aerospace and Test Systems segments. Consolidated operating income improved 11% of sales, compared with 3.7% of sales in the prior-year period. Margin expansion was on the back of leverage gained from higher volume combined with a reduction in expenses relative to the first quarter of 2018, more than offsetting $10.7 million in operating losses from the three challenged Aerospace businesses, which included a $2 million charge for inventory reserves and a $1.7 million additional loss on a VVIP contract. Net income was $78.1 million compared with $3.3 million in the prior year. The gain on the sale of the semiconductor test business is expected to contribute $58.8 million after taxes.