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AeroVironment (AVAV) Reports Loss in Q1, Sales Improve Y/Y

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AeroVironment (AVAV - Free Report) reported first-quarter fiscal 2023 loss of 10 cents per share, wider than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 9 cents. The company had reported a loss of 17 cents in the year-ago quarter.

The year-over-year improvement can be attributed to a decrease in SG&A expenses and an increase in the gross margin in the quarter under review.

Total Revenues

The company’s net sales improved 7% year over year to $108.5 million in the reported quarter, primarily driven by an increase in service revenues of $2.6 million and product sales of $4.9 million.

Total sales surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate marginally by 3.42%.

AeroVironment, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

AeroVironment, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

AeroVironment, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | AeroVironment, Inc. Quote

Segmental Performance

Product Sales: Net revenues in this segment improved 9.1% to $57.9 million from the prior-year quarter’s $53.1 million.

Contract Services: The segment’s revenues amounted to $50.5 million in the first quarter, reflecting an increase of 5.5% year over year.

Backlog

At the end of the reported quarter, AVAV’s total funded backlog was $203.9 million, down 3.3% quarter over quarter.

AeroVironment's gross profit soared 17% year over year to $33.7 million, primarily due to a higher product margin of $4.5 million and a higher service margin of $0.4 million. The gross margin expanded 300 basis points to 31% from the prior-year period.

Operational Update

AeroVironment’s total costs and expenses decreased 9.6% year over year to $36.9 million in the quarter under review. The decrease was due to lower SG&A expenses, partially offset by higher research and development expenses.

The company reported an operating loss of $3.3 million compared with the operating loss of $12.1 million in the prior-year period.

Financial Details

As of Jul 30, 2022, AeroVironment’s cash and cash equivalents totaled $93.2 million compared with $77.2 million as of Apr 30, 2022.

Cash flow used in operating activities was $15.9 million at the end of the first quarter of fiscal 2023 compared to cash outflow from operating activities of $15.3 million in the prior-year period.

AeroVironment reported long-term debt (net of current maturities) of $175.5 million as of Jul 30, 2022, down from $177.8 million as of Apr 30, 2022.

2023 Guidance

AeroVironment reaffirmed its view for fiscal 2023. The company continues to expect non-GAAP earnings in the range of $1.35-$1.65 per diluted share. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2022 earnings is pegged at $1.42 per share, lower than the midpoint of the company’s projected view.

The company anticipates revenues in the range of $490-$520 million this year, unchanged from the previous guidance. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2023 revenues stands at $520.7 million, higher than the midpoint of the company’s guided range.

The company’s non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA is anticipated between $82 million and $92 million.

Zacks Rank

AeroVironment currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Defense Releases

Lockheed Martin (LMT - Free Report) reported second-quarter 2022 earnings of $6.32 per share, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $6.29 by 0.5%. However, the bottom line declined 1.6% year over year.

Lockheed Martin’s top line declined 9.3% from $17.03 billion reported in the year-ago quarter. LMT ended the second quarter of 2022 (on Jun 26, 2022) with $134.64 billion in the backlog compared with $135.23 billion at the end of the first quarter of 2022.

AAR Corp. (AIR - Free Report) reported fourth-quarter fiscal 2022 adjusted earnings of 72 cents per share, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 68 cents by 5.9%. Earnings surged a solid 53.2% from the year-ago quarter.

AAR generated net sales worth $476.1 million, which improved 8.8% from the $437.6 million recorded in the year-ago quarter. AIR’s cash and cash equivalents amounted to $53.5 million as of May 31, 2022 compared with $51.8 million as of May 31, 2021.

Raytheon Technologies’ (RTX - Free Report) second-quarter 2022 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.16 beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.12 by 3.6%. Moreover, the bottom line improved 13% from the year-ago quarter’s adjusted earnings of $1.03.

Raytheon Technologies had cash and cash equivalents of $4,767 million as of Jun 30, 2022 compared with $7,832 million as of Dec 31, 2021. RTX projects the 2022 adjusted EPS in the range of $4.60-$4.80.

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