Badger Meter Reports Third Quarter Results.MILWAUKEE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 18, 1999-- Badger badger, name for several related members of the weasel family. Most badgers are large, nocturnal, burrowing animals, with broad, heavy bodies, long snouts, large, sharp claws, and long, grizzled fur. Meter, Inc.(AMEX AMEX See: American Stock Exchange :BMI BMI body mass index. BMI abbr. body mass index Body mass index (BMI) A measurement that has replaced weight as the preferred determinant of obesity. ) today reported results for the third quarter and nine months ended September 30, 1999. Net sales Net Sales The amount a seller receives from the buyer after costs associated with the sale are deducted. Notes: This amount is calculated by subtracting the following items from gross sales: merchandise returned for credit, allowances for damaged or missing goods, freight for the third quarter of 1999 were $37,551,000, a 4.6% decrease from sales of $39,370,000 for the third quarter of 1998. Net earnings were $2,420,000 for the third quarter of 1999, compared to earnings of $2,404,000 for the same period in the prior year. Diluted earnings per share diluted earnings per share An earnings measure calculated by dividing net income less preferred stock dividends for a period by the average number of shares of common stock that would be outstanding if all convertible securities were converted into shares of were $0.65 in the third quarter of 1999, compared to earnings of $0.62 per diluted di·lute tr.v. di·lut·ed, di·lut·ing, di·lutes 1. To make thinner or less concentrated by adding a liquid such as water. 2. To lessen the force, strength, purity, or brilliance of, especially by admixture. share for the same period in 1998. The larger percentage increase in earnings per share than in earnings reflects the repurchase re·pur·chase tr.v. re·pur·chased, re·pur·chas·ing, re·pur·chas·es To buy (something) again. n. The act of buying something that one previously sold or owned. Noun 1. of 304,000 common shares in August 1999. For the first nine months of 1999, net sales were $114,460,000, a 4.7% increase from sales of $109,299,000 for the first nine months of 1998. Net earnings were $7,405,000 for the first nine months of 1999, a 17.6% increase from earnings of $6,296,000 for the comparable prior period. Diluted earnings per share were $1.95 for the first nine months of 1999, an increase of 21.1% from earnings of $1.61 for the same period in 1998. The decrease in third quarter 1999 sales primarily reflects lower sales of residential water meters, valves and industrial flowmeters. "In the third quarter of 1998, we recorded significant sales of residential water meters as part of a large metering project for the City of Philadelphia, which was completed in early 1999. While we have a large contract for a residential metering project in Houston, there were no shipments made as part of this project during the third quarter of 1999. We expect shipments for this project to resume in future quarters," said James L. Forbes, chairman and chief executive officer of Badger Meter. "In addition, sales and incoming orders of valves and industrial flowmeter See flow meter. products were affected by soft market conditions during the period." Forbes said the flat third quarter 1999 earnings were due to the lower sales, stable profit margins and higher interest expense due to additional debt relating to relating to relate prep → concernant relating to relate prep → bezüglich +gen, mit Bezug auf +acc the repurchase of the common shares. "These factors were somewhat offset by a decrease in selling, general and administrative expenses generated by our ongoing cost improvement program," Forbes said. Forbes said that while sales of the company's TRACE(R) radio frequency automated meter reading system continue to increase, sales of its residential water meters equipped with the Recordall(R) Transmitter A device that generates signals. Contrast with receiver. Register (RTR RTR Ready To Run RTR Rundfunk & Telekom Regulierungs Gmbh RTR Rotor RTR Radio e Televisiun Rumantscha (Romansh Radio and Television, Switzerland) RTR Response Time Reporter RTR Ready To Race RTR Ready to Roll (R)) to Itron, Inc. and CellNet Data Systems, Inc. are being affected by a Federal Communications Commission Federal Communications Commission (FCC), independent executive agency of the U.S. government established in 1934 to regulate interstate and foreign communications in the public interest. change in the licensing of radio frequencies for these systems. Although existing licenses are not affected by this issue, applications for new licenses for the frequencies used by these products are not being accepted. Both Itron and CellNet are working to resolve this issue. "Badger Meter's TRACE radio frequency system is not affected by this change in licensing of frequencies. TRACE is already a very successful product for Badger Meter. The FCC (1) (Federal Communications Commission, Washington, DC, www.fcc.gov) The U.S. government agency that regulates interstate and international communications including wire, cable, radio, TV and satellite. The FCC was created under the U.S. issue provides the opportunity for increased sales of TRACE to continue to meet the automatic meter reading Automatic meter reading, or AMR, is the technology of automatically collecting data from water meter or energy metering devices (water, gas, electric) and transferring that data to a central database for billing and/or analyzing. needs of our customers. Our strategy to offer various meter reading systems and establishing market relationships with other companies gives us added flexibility in today's market," said Forbes. Forbes said a fire in September 1999 at the facility of one of Badger Meter's principal vendors significantly damaged the equipment used in producing the majority of the company's meter castings. "The vendor has continued to supply us with meter castings using alternate equipment, as it works to rebuild its facility. Badger Meter carries business interruption insurance Noun 1. business interruption insurance - insurance that provides protection for the loss of profits and continuing fixed expenses resulting from a break in commercial activities due to the occurrence of a peril that specifically addresses this situation and we do not believe this will have a material impact on our business," he said. "Throughout 1998 and for the first half of 1999, our results were consistently strong, with steady increases in sales and earnings. While we are disappointed with the dip in third quarter performance and have seen some continued softening softening /sof·ten·ing/ (sof´en-ing) malacia. softening a change of consistency, with loss of firmness or hardness. in the industrial markets, we believe we are well-positioned for continued growth over the long term. The utility market is strong and offers good growth potential. With only a small portion of homes and businesses currently converted to automatic meter reading, we have opportunities to continue to build our business through sales of our well-established products and through alliances with other companies," said Forbes. Badger Meter is a leading marketer and manufacturer of products using flow measurement and control technology serving industrial and utility markets worldwide. Certain statements in this news release may contain forward looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward looking statements. The words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "think," and "objective" or similar expressions are intended to identify forward looking statements. The forward looking statements are based on the company's current views and assumptions and involve risks and uncertainties that include, among other things: the success or failure of new product developments; the actions of competitors; changes in the domestic economic conditions, including housing starts; changes in foreign economic conditions, including currency fluctuations; changes in laws and regulations; changes in customer demand; and fluctuations in the prices of and availability of purchased raw materials and parts. Some or all of these factors are beyond the company's control. Badger Meter, Inc. company news is available 24 hours a day, on-line at: http://www.badgermeter.com T* BADGER METER, INC. CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS See Income statement. (1) Nine Months Ended September 30, 1999 1998 ---- ---- Net sales $114,460,000 $109,299,000 Gross margin $45,135,000 $43,453,000 Earnings before income taxes $12,040,000 $10,116,000 Provision for income taxes $4,635,000 $3,820,000 Net earnings $7,405,000 $6,296,000 Earnings per share: Basic $2.08 $1.74 Diluted $1.95 $1.61 Shares used in computation of: Basic 3,562,166 3,624,776 Diluted 3,800,437 3,902,396 Three Months Ended September 30, 1999 1998 ---- ---- Net sales $37,551,000 $39,370,000 Gross margin $14,891,000 $15,743,000 Earnings before income taxes $3,935,000 $3,890,000 Provision for income taxes $1,515,000 $1,486,000 Net earnings $2,420,000 $2,404,000 Earnings per share: Basic $0.70 $0.66 Diluted $0.65 $0.62 Shares used in computation of: Basic 3,471,997 3,630,008 Diluted 3,708,275 3,876,372 (1)Unaudited |
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