ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, September 10, 1996 TAG: 9609100059
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: GREG EDWARDS STAFF WRITER
Optical Cable Corp. on Monday reported sharp increases in sales and profits during its third quarter and predicted further gains from expansion under way at its Roanoke County plant.
The optical cable maker announced net income of $1.86million for the third quarter ended July 31, equal to 5 cents per share of common stock.
The company, which issued stock to the public for the first time April 2, did not report comparative hypothetical net income for the same period last year. It did, however, report that quarterly net income before taxes was $2.98million, a 59 percent increase from the $1.88 million it earned during the same period in 1995.
Net sales during the third quarter increased to a record $10.9million, a 25 percent increase from $8.7 million during the third quarter last year, the company said.
Results for the third quarter reflect increased sales in all market segments and product types, the company said. Optical Cable President Robert Kopstein said the company is pleased with third-quarter sales and expects them to increase significantly in the fourth quarter, which is typical for the industry.
The company reported a pro forma - or hypothetical - net income for the nine months ended July 31 of $4.95 million, equal to 13 cents per share. Optical Cable did not report pro forma figures for the corresponding nine months last year, when it was a private company.
Net income before taxes, however, was $8.01million for the nine months, compared with $5.3 million earned during that period a year earlier, the company said. Net sales during the nine months were $31.4million, a 19.2 percent increase from a year earlier.
The company's stock, traded on the Nasdaq stock market, closed Monday at $16.97 a share, down $1.28 from Friday's close.
Optical Cable said it ordered additional production equipment during the third quarter, which should be put into operation during the fourth quarter. The company also expects to have completed a doubling of the size of its plant in the Valleypointe business park by Thanksgiving, Kopstein said.
Optical Cable makes a broad range of fiber-optic cables for transmission of data, video and audio communications over moderate distances. They can be used both indoors and outdoors.
The company said it has customers in more than 68 countries.
LENGTH: Short : 50 linesby CNB