American Superconductor Corporation (NASDAQ: AMSC), has reported financial results for its fiscal first quarter ended June 30, 2006.
Revenues for the first quarter of fiscal 2007 were $14.0 million, and the net loss was $6.7 million, or $0.20 per share. This net loss includes approximately $800,000 of stock-based compensation expense, including stock option expenses for the first time in connection with the company’s adoption of FAS 123 on April 1, 2006. This compares with approximately $100,000 of stock-based compensation expense in the first quarter of the prior fiscal year. Revenues for the first quarter of the previous fiscal year were $12.2 million and the net loss was $5.6 million, or $0.17 per share.
The company ended the first quarter of fiscal 2007 with no debt and $55.4 million in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments compared with $65.7 million on March 31, 2006. The company expects its cash burn will be reduced significantly in the second half of fiscal 2007 and remains firmly on track to achieve its objective to exit fiscal year 2007 with at least $38 million in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments.
AMSC(TM) booked $28.2 million in new orders and contracts during the quarter ended June 30, 2006, compared to $2.4 million of new orders in the prior-year quarter. The company’s total backlog of orders and contracts as of June 30, 2006 was $37.1 million, compared with $23.8 million on March 31, 2006.
“Power Electronic Systems generated $12.1 million of new orders in the first quarter – a record for this business unit,” said Greg Yurek, chief executive officer. “Additional orders were received in July, enabling us to revise our forecasted revenues for Power Electronic Systems upward from our previous target of 35% growth year-over-year. We now forecast 50% year-over-year revenue growth for this business unit in fiscal 2007. Demand for power electronic solutions for wind farms has been a key contributor to this growth, a trend that we see continuing. In addition, we believe an increasing amount of orders from electric utilities to enhance power grid throughput and reliability will be a key additional contributor to revenue growth in our next fiscal year.”
The company said its SuperMachines business unit has made tremendous progress in the manufacture of the 36.5-megawatt HTS ship propulsion motor for the U.S. Navy, and that it expected all components for the motor to be delivered to a Northrop Grumman assembly and test facility in Philadelphia by the end of August, with factory testing to be underway by the end of September. “Operation of this motor will be another ‘world’s first’ and is very important in positioning superconductor motors as the propulsion system of choice for U.S. Navy ships,” said Yurek. “Not only will these HTS propulsion motors be smaller, lighter and more efficient than copper and permanent magnet motors of the same rating, we also expect them to be less costly than the competing products.”
AMSC recently announced substantial progress in the development and manufacturing scale-up of its 344 superconductors, the company’s brand name for second generation (2G) high temperature superconductor (HTS) wire. The AMSC Wires business unit now has orders for 9,960 meters of 344 superconductors for shipment in fiscal 2007. “Having essentially achieved its objective to book orders for shipment of 10,000 meters of 344 superconductors in fiscal 2007, the AMSC Wires sales force is now focused on building backlog for shipment of 344 superconductors for next fiscal year,” Yurek said.
“Perhaps our greatest technical and manufacturing engineering achievement so far this year has been the manufacture for the first time of 344 superconductors with commercial-grade electrical performance in long lengths made by a low-cost, high-volume manufacturing process. This is a breakthrough in electricity that paves the way to superconductor solutions for increased power grid throughput and reliability and puts us ahead of our development schedule for this product,” Yurek said. “Demand for electricity around the world has never been higher, and it is expected to continue to increase to support economic growth in the U.S. and in emerging markets around the world. Recent blackouts in the U.S. have highlighted the need to continue to strengthen power transmission and distribution grids to meet this growing demand under all conditions, including during heat waves. I believe our 344 superconductors will be a core part of the solutions that are utilized to strengthen power grids around the world.”
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