MIDDLETOWN – KVH Industries Inc., a provider of guidance and Internet systems for the maritime and defense industries, reported full-year 2013 net income of $4.5 million, or 30 cents per diluted share, an increase of 26.6 percent compared with $3.6 million, or 24 cents per diluted share, in 2012.
Net sales also increased last year, to $162.3 million from $137.1 million a year earlier, representing an increase of 18.4 percent.
In the fourth quarter alone, KVH posted a net loss of $365,000, or 2 cents per diluted share, compared with a 2012 fourth-quarter profit of $2.8 million, or 18 cents per diluted share.
Sales decreased in the three months ended Dec. 31, as well, dropping 1.5 percent to $38.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2012.
KVH attributed the quarter’s poor performance to a 45 percent year-over-year decline in the company’s guidance and stabilization segment revenue, which includes KVH’s fiber optic gyro products, military tactical navigation systems and related services.
“We saw a sharp decline in fiber optic gyro revenues in the fourth quarter, which was unexpected and was the most significant contributor to our earnings shortfall compared to our previous guidance,” said Martin Kits van Heyningen, CEO of KVH Industries. The drop was driven in large part by the company’s Saudi Arabian National Guard program, which deferred “significant orders” from 2013 to 2014, he said.
However, Kits van Heyningen added, “the fourth quarter was highlighted with solid growth in our satellite services business, where our broadband airtime service revenues were up 33 percent year over year.”
KVH’s mobile communications segment, including the company’s satellite television products and KVH Media’s operations, saw $29 million in total revenue for the fourth quarter of 2013, an increase of 35 percent year over year. Sales of KVH’s mini-VSAT Broadband airtime service – which provides phone service to mariners at sea – and its TracPhone terminals together amounted to $18.6 million in the fourth quarter.
For the first quarter of 2014, KVH projected revenue in the range of $36 million to $40 million, reflecting strong growth in the mini-VSAT business and a continued decline in sales of tactical navigation products.
KVH expects a first-quarter net loss of between 4 cents and 7 cents per diluted share. With the exception of a net loss in the first quarter, KVH anticipates a profitable year in 2014 with income from operations in exceeding that in 2013.
