Astronics Corporation Reports 2023 First Quarter Financial Results - Test Systems Sales up $6.2 MIO

Astronics Corporation (Nasdaq: ATRO) (“Astronics” or the “Company”), a leading supplier of advanced technologies and products to the global aerospace, defense and other mission critical industries, today reported financial results for the three months ended April 1, 2023.

Peter J. Gundermann, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, “We had a solid start to the year as continued strong customer demand and an improving supply chain helped us exceed the upper end of our revenue expectations for the quarter. Our leading position in passenger power and inflight connectivity for commercial aerospace combined with the robust recovery in that market has driven demand for our products. The trends give us confidence in the revenue ramp we are planning for the rest of 2023.”

Mr. Gundermann continued, “We expect revenue to increase significantly in the second quarter to $165 million to $175 million and are maintaining full year guidance of $640 million to $680 million. We have also restructured our Test segment to take out approximately $4 million to $5 million in costs and improve operating results. We expect this effort, together with the cooperation of our supply chain and strong customer demand, will improve financial results as we advance through the year.”

 

Test Systems Segment Review (refer to sales by market and segment data in accompanying tables)

Test Systems First Quarter 2023 Results (compared with the prior-year period, unless noted otherwise)

Test Systems segment sales were $20.9 million, up $6.2 million compared with the prior-year period primarily as a result of a reversal of $5.8 million deferred revenue liability recorded with a previous acquisition. Absent that item, Test Systems sales increased $0.4 million.

Test Systems segment operating loss was $0.6 million compared with operating loss of $1.8 million in the first quarter of 2022. Absent the non-operating sales adjustment resulting from the reversal of the deferred revenue liability, Test Systems operating loss for the current period was $6.4 million and was negatively affected by mix, under absorption of fixed costs due to volume and $2.6 million in increased litigation-related legal expenses.

Shortly after the quarter ended the Test Systems segment implemented restructuring initiatives to align the workforce and management structure with near-term revenue expectations and operational needs. These initiatives are expected to provide savings of $4 million to $5 million annually, beginning with the third quarter.

Bookings for the Test Systems segment in the quarter were $7.7 million, for a book-to-bill ratio of 0.51:1 for the quarter, excluding the impact of the $5.8 million adjustment to sales referred to previously. Backlog was $86.3 million at the end of the first quarter of 2023 compared with backlog of $81.1 million at the end of the first quarter of 2022.

In April 2023, Astronics announced that the Test business had been awarded a contract award to produce portable radio test equipment for the U.S. Marine Corps’ Handheld Radio Test Sets program (“HHRTS”). This program is expected to generate revenue of approximately $40 million over a five-year period. An initial task order for approximately $10 million is expected in the coming weeks.

Mr. Gundermann commented, “Our Test business is going through a transition period. We have been quite successful winning new business, including radio test programs for both the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps, which promise to be major contributors to our results in the near future. However, these programs have developed more slowly than expected, so we found it necessary to restructure and right size the business for the interim period. We expect the restructuring to improve profitability for the segment at current run rates until the new programs gain traction.”