Comtech Telecommunications Corp. said Thursday earnings more than doubled in the fiscal fourth quarter and also announced it would begin paying a quarterly dividend of 25 cents per share.
The company, which makes amplifiers and communications gear used by the U.S. military, attributed the profit increase to its mobile data unit, which benefitted from the timing of shipments to the U.S. Army.
The company earned almost $13.5 million, or 43 cents per share, during the quarter that ended July 31, up from $6.2 million, or 21 cents per share, during the same period a year earlier.
Revenue more than doubled to almost $257 million, from $122 million a year earlier.
Not counting a goodwill impairment charge of $10.2 million, or 30 cents per share, the company would have earned 73 cents for the quarter. The charge was because its mobile data communications unit lost an Army contract to another vendor.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters, who generally exclude such charges, were expecting a profit of 58 cents per share on revenue of $237.5 million.
The company said it expects revenue of $620 million to $630 million for the year ending July 31, 2011, with earnings per share of $1.90 to $2. That guidance does not include the impact of its planned $100 million share repurchase program announced on Thursday.
Analysts had been expecting a profit of $1.94 for the year, on revenue of $673.3 million.
For the year that ended July 31, 2010, the company said net earnings rose 27.6 percent to $60.6 million, from $47.5 million a year earlier. On a per-share basis, the profit was $1.91 in the most recent quarter, up from $1.73 a year earlier.
Revenue rose 32.7 percent to $778.2 million, from $586.4 million during the prior year.
Comtech also said on Thursday that it will begin paying a quarterly dividend, starting with 25 cents per share on Nov. 22 to shareholders of record on Oct. 22. The company said it plans to pay $1 per share per year.
Its shares had fallen 35 cents to close at $24.62 before the announcement. They rose 68 cents, or 2.8 percent, to $25.30 in aftermarket trading.
