Arotech Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2017 Results

Acting CEO Dean Krutty named President and CEO


ANN ARBOR, Mich., March 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Arotech Corporation (Nasdaq:ARTX) today announced financial results for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2017.

Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2017 Financial Summary:

U.S. $ in thousands, except per share data Twelve months ended December 31, Three months ended December 31,
   2017  2016   2017  2016 
GAAP Measures        
Revenue    $98,723 $92,976  $28,996 $21,489 
Net income (loss) from continuing operations   $3,834 $(1,480) $4,409 $(2,034)
Diluted net income (loss) per share – continuing operations $0.15 $(0.06) $0.17 $(0.08)
         
Non-GAAP Measures (reconciliation to GAAP measures appears in the tables below)        
Adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations   $7,595 $7,070  $3,230 $757 
Adjusted EPS from continuing operations   $0.17 $0.17  $0.08 $0.01 

Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2017 Business Highlights:

  • Fourth quarter revenue of $29 million is up 35% over the prior year.

  • U.S. Power Division delivers Mobile Electric Hybrid Power Sources (MEHPS) products to the U.S. Marine Corps for testing.

  • Training and Simulation Division sets second consecutive annual sales record for Arotech’s MILO Range use of force training products with sales of $14 million.

  • Commercial vehicle simulation group delivers a bus simulation demonstrator to New Flyer and strengthened Arotech’s new partnership with an order from the San Francisco MTA for three new simulators.

  • Israel Power Division begins work on a new battery development for an autonomous underwater vehicle program and field trials on its lithium-ion 6T tank batteries.

  • The U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act enacted late in 2017 reduced corporate tax rates from 35% to 21%, which required remeasurement of Arotech’s deferred taxes and resulted in a $3.2 million one-time benefit in 2017, raising net income results (GAAP measures only).

Arotech also reported that its Board of Directors appointed Dean Krutty, who had been acting CEO since January 2017, to the position of President and CEO of Arotech. “2017 was a year of transition for Arotech,” noted Chairman of the Board Jon B. Kutler. “While still not satisfied with the Company’s results, I believe the Board and Dean have made significant progress towards setting the Company on the right path. We have cut costs, restructured the corporate culture, and invested in the programs, technologies, and people required to support future growth. As one of the Company’s largest shareholders, I am extremely focused on the need to create sustainable improvements in shareholder value,” concluded Mr. Kutler.

“Our fourth quarter continued the improvement shown in Q3 and delivered a strong second half performance that we had been expecting,” commented CEO Dean Krutty. “We continue to see broad based support for our products, especially in our Training and Simulation Division, which improved our performance over the fourth quarter of 2016 and the previous three quarters of 2017. We anticipate continued revenue growth as our recent sales of simulation products to the U.S. military improves the outlook for 2018.”

“Within our Power Systems Division, the delivery of our MEHPS product in the fourth quarter marked an important milestone for our U.S. power subsidiary, UEC. While the MEHPS project was more costly than we had anticipated, we believe that the future market for these hybrid power systems will ultimately more than justify the investment that we have made. We look forward to supporting the U.S. Marine Corps in system testing during 2018,” concluded Mr. Krutty.

Full Year 2017 Financial Summary

Revenues for the year ended December 31, 2017 were $98.7 million, compared to $93.0 million for 2016, an increase of 6.2%. The year-over-year increase was due to higher revenues in both divisions.

Gross profit for the year ended December 31, 2017 was $27.6 million, or 28.0% of revenues, compared to $28.2 million, or 30.3% of revenues, for 2016.

Operating expenses from continuing operations were $24.7 million or 25.1% of revenues in the year ended December 31, 2017, compared to expenses of $27.9 million, or 30.0% of revenues, for 2016. Operating income for the year ended December 31, 2017 was $2.9 million, compared to operating income of $214,000 for 2016.

The Company’s net income from continuing operations for the year ended December 31, 2017 was $3.8 million, or $0.15 per basic and diluted share, compared to a net loss of $(1.5 million), or $(0.06) per basic and diluted share, for 2016.

Adjusted Earnings per Share (Adjusted EPS) for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016 was $0.17.

Adjusted Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (Adjusted EBITDA) for the year ended December 31, 2017 was $7.6 million, compared to $7.1 million 2016.

Total company backlog at the end of 2017 stood at $61.1 million as compared to $55.4 million at the end of 2016, an increase of 10%.

The Company believes that information concerning Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EPS enhances overall understanding of the Company’s current financial performance. The Company computes Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EPS, which are non-GAAP financial measures, as reflected in the tables below.

Fourth Quarter Financial Summary

Revenues for the fourth quarter of 2017 were $29.0 million, compared to $21.5 million for the corresponding period in 2016, an increase of 35%. The year-over-year increase was due to higher revenues in both divisions.

Gross profit for the fourth quarter of 2017 was $7.9 million, or 27.3% of revenues, compared to $5.6 million, or 26.0% of revenues, for the corresponding period in 2016.

Operating expenses from continuing operations were $6.0 million, or 20.6% of revenues, in the fourth quarter of 2017, compared to expenses of $7.3 million, or 34.2% of revenues, for the corresponding period in 2016. Operating income for the fourth quarter was $2.0 million compared to a loss of $(1.7 million) for the corresponding period in 2016.

The Company’s net income from continuing operations for the fourth quarter of 2017 was $4.4 million, or $0.17 per basic and diluted share, compared to a net loss of $(2.0 million), or $(0.08) per basic and diluted share, for the corresponding period in 2016.

Adjusted Earnings per Share (Adjusted EPS) for the fourth quarter of 2017 was $0.08, compared to $0.01 for the corresponding period in 2016.

Adjusted Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (Adjusted EBITDA) for the fourth quarter of 2017 was $3.2 million, compared to $757,000 for the corresponding period of 2016.

The Company believes that information concerning Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EPS enhances overall understanding of the Company’s current financial performance. The Company computes Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EPS, which are non-GAAP financial measures, as reflected in the tables below.

Balance Sheet Metrics

As of December 31, 2017, the Company had $5.5 million in cash and cash equivalents, as compared to December 31, 2016, when the Company had $7.4 million in cash and cash equivalents.

As of December 31, 2017, the Company had total debt of $15.9 million, consisting of $5.1 million in short-term bank debt under the Company’s credit facility and $10.8 million in long-term loans, comprised of a $7.1 million term loan and $3.1 million in mortgage loans. This is in comparison to December 31, 2016, when the Company had total debt of $13.5 million, consisting of $3.0 million in short-term bank debt under its credit facility and $10.5 million in long-term loans.

The Company also had $9.1 million in available, unused bank lines of credit with its primary bank as of December 31, 2017, under a $15.0 million revolving credit facility.

The Company maintained its current ratio (current assets/current liabilities) of 2.0 for the comparative periods.

As of December 31, 2017, the Company had net operating loss carryforwards for U.S. federal income tax purposes of $40.7 million, which are available to offset future taxable income, if any, expiring in 2021 through 2032. Utilization of U.S. net operating losses is subject to annual limitations due to provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and similar state provisions. The annual limitation may result in the expiration of net operating losses before utilization.

2018 Guidance

The Company’s 2018 guidance range: Total revenue of $100 million to $105 million; Adjusted EBITDA of $7.0 million to $8.0 million; and Adjusted EPS of $0.15 to $0.18. The financial guidance provided is as of today and the Company undertakes no obligation to update its estimates in the future.

Conference Call

The Company will host a conference call tomorrow, Thursday, March 15, 2018 at 9:00 a.m. Eastern time, to review its financial results and business outlook.

To participate, please call one of the following telephone numbers. Please dial in at least 10 minutes before the start of the call:

  • US:  1-877-407-9205
  • International:  +1-201-689-8054

The conference call will also be broadcast live as a listen-only webcast on the investor relations section of Arotech’s website at http://www.arotech.com/.

The online playback of the conference call will be archived on Arotech’s website for at least 90 days and a telephonic playback of the conference call will also be available by calling 1-877-481-4010 within the U.S. and +1-919-882-2331 internationally. The telephonic playback will be available beginning at 12:00 p.m. Eastern time on Thursday, March 15, 2018, and continue through 9:00 a.m. Eastern time on Thursday, March 22, 2018. The replay passcode is 25728.

About Arotech Corporation

Arotech Corporation is a defense and security company engaged in two business areas: interactive simulation and mobile power systems.

Arotech is incorporated in Delaware, with corporate offices in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and research, development and production subsidiaries in Michigan, South Carolina, and Israel. For more information on Arotech, please visit Arotech’s website at www.arotech.com.

Investor Relations Contact:

Scott Schmidt
Arotech Corporation
1-800-281-0356
Scott.Schmidt@arotechusa.com 

Except for the historical information herein, the matters discussed in this news release include forward-looking statements, as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements reflect management’s current knowledge, assumptions, judgment and expectations regarding future performance or events. Although management believes that the expectations reflected in such statements are reasonable, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, as they are subject to various risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to vary materially. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, risks relating to: product and technology development; the uncertainty of the market for Arotech’s products; changing economic conditions; delay, cancellation or non-renewal, in whole or in part, of contracts or of purchase orders (including as a result of budgetary cuts resulting from automatic sequestration under the Budget Control Act of 2011); and other risk factors detailed in Arotech’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016, and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Arotech assumes no obligation to update the information in this release. Reference to the Company’s website above does not constitute incorporation of any of the information thereon into this press release.

 
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET SUMMARY (UNAUDITED)
(U.S. Dollars)
    
  December 31, 
  2017 2016 
ASSETS     
CURRENT ASSETS:     
Cash and cash equivalents $5,488,754 $7,399,963 
Trade receivables  19,258,960  16,821,737 
Unbilled receivables  16,094,515  10,981,577 
Other accounts receivable and prepaid  2,342,220  2,156,896 
Inventories  8,654,878  10,318,021 
Total current assets  51,839,327  47,678,194 
LONG TERM ASSETS:       
Property and equipment, net  9,276,088  5,915,240 
Other long term assets    3,939,120    3,233,900 
Intangible assets, net    5,205,605    6,823,346 
Goodwill    46,138,036    45,489,517 
Discontinued operations      270,139 
Total long term assets    64,558,849    61,732,142 
Total assets $116,398,176 $109,410,336 
       
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY    
CURRENT LIABILITIES:    
Trade payables $5,560,196 $4,362,804 
Other accounts payable and accrued expenses  6,640,154  5,597,558 
Current portion of long term debt  2,248,043  1,828,840 
Short term bank credit  5,092,088  2,973,032 
Current portion of severance    2,577,472 
Deferred revenues  6,778,313  6,421,271 
Total current liabilities  26,318,794  23,760,977 
LONG TERM LIABILITIES:       
Accrued Israeli statutory/contractual severance pay  4,709,807  3,891,710 
Long term portion of debt  8,570,524  8,703,736 
Other long-term liabilities  5,705,833  7,968,867 
Total long-term liabilities  18,986,164  20,564,313 
Total liabilities  45,304,958  44,325,290 
STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY:       
Total stockholders’ equity (net)    71,093,218    65,085,046 
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity $116,398,176 $109,410,336 
       


CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (Unaudited)
(U.S. Dollars, except share data)
 
 Twelve months ended December 31, Three months ended December 31,
  2017   2016   2017   2016 
Revenues$98,722,678  $92,975,752  $28,996,099  $21,489,274 
        
Cost of revenues 71,082,708   64,825,416   21,074,759   15,892,245 
Research and development expenses 3,041,130   2,722,965   249,611   355,001 
Selling and marketing expenses 7,874,364   7,029,090   2,199,711   2,116,014 
General and administrative expenses 11,623,900   15,380,461   3,035,141   4,158,821 
Amortization of intangible assets 2,205,755   2,875,543   476,799   710,606 
Total operating costs and expenses 95,827,857   92,761,475   27,036,021   23,232,687 
        
Operating income 2,894,821   214,277   1,960,078   (1,743,413)
        
Other income (loss) (8,156)  64,832   5,342   14,919 
Financial expenses, net (1,076,659)  (975,263)  (326,692)  (205,935)
Total other expense (1,084,815)  (910,431)  (321,350)  (191,016)
Income (loss) from continuing operations before income tax expense 1,810,006   (696,154)  1,638,728   (1,934,429)
                
Income tax (benefit) expense (2,024,130)  783,420   (2,770,125)  99,148 
Income (loss) from continuing operations 3,834,136   (1,479,574)  4,408,853   (2,033,577)
Loss from discontinued operations, net of income tax   –   (1,368,682)     (6,895)
Net income (loss) 3,834,136   (2,848,256)  4,408,853   (2,040,472)
                
Other comprehensive income (loss), net of $0 income tax:               
Foreign currency translation adjustment 1,752,606   54,925   332,507   (351,967)
Comprehensive income (loss)$5,586,742  $(2,793,331) $4,741,360  $(2,392,439)
                
Basic net income (loss) per share – continuing operations$0.15  $(0.06)  $0.17  $(0.08) 
Basic net loss per share – discontinued operations  $  $(0.05)  $  $(0.00) 
Basic net income (loss) per share$0.15  $(0.11)  $0.17  $(0.08) 
                
Diluted net income (loss) per share – continuing operations  $0.15  $(0.06)  $0.17  $(0.08) 
Diluted net loss per share – discontinued operations  $  $(0.05)  $  $(0.00) 
Diluted net income (loss) per share$0.15  $(0.11)  $0.17  $(0.08) 
Weighted average number of shares used in computing basic net income/loss per share 26,380,312   25,494,097   26,395,048   25,742,394 
Weighted average number of shares used in computing diluted net income/loss per share 26,380,312   25,494,097   26,395,048   25,742,394 
                

 

Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measure – Continuing Operations

To supplement Arotech’s consolidated financial statements presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP, Arotech uses a non-GAAP measure, Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA). This non-GAAP measure is provided to enhance overall understanding of Arotech’s current financial performance. Reconciliation of the nearest GAAP measure to adjusted EBITDA follows:

 Twelve months ended December 31, Three months ended December 31,
  2017   2016   2017   2016 
Net income (loss)   $3,834,136  $(2,848,256) $4,408,853  $(2,040,472)
Loss from discontinued operations, net of income tax    (1,368,682)     (6,895)
Net income (loss) from continuing operations (GAAP measure)  $3,834,136  $(1,479,574) $4,408,853  $(2,033,577)
Add back:         
Financial expense – including interest 1,084,815   910,431   321,350   191,016 
Income tax (benefit) expense(2,024,130)*  783,420  (2,770,125)*  99,148 
Depreciation and amortization expense 4,041,063   4,664,584   1,034,123   1,177,051 
Other adjustments** 658,852   2,190,656   235,417   1,323,418 
Total adjusted EBITDA$7,594,736  $7,069,517  $3,229,618  $757,056 
                

                                                                                               
*
   Includes tax rate reduction as a result of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
**
Includes stock compensation expense, one-time transaction expenses and other non-cash expenses.


Calculation of Adjusted Earnings Per Share
(U.S. $ in thousands, except per share data)
 
  Twelve months ended December 31, Three months ended December 31,
   2017   2016   2017   2016 
          
Revenue (GAAP measure)  $98,723  $92,976  $28,996  $21,489 
Net income (loss)    $3,834  $(2,848) $4,409  $(2,040)
Loss from discontinued operations, net of income tax     (1,368)     (7)
Net income (loss) from continuing operations (GAAP measure)   $3,834  $(1,480) $4,409  $(2,034)
Adjustments:         
Amortization  2,206   2,876   477   711 
Stock compensation  421   878   112   92 
Non-cash taxes (2,267)*  837   (2,953)*  229 
Other non-recurring expenses  237   1,313   123   1,231 
Income tax impact on adjustments            
Net adjustments $597  $5,904  $(2,241) $2,263 
Adjusted net income $4,431  $4,424  $2,168  $229 
Number of diluted shares  26,380   25,833   26,395   26,081 
Adjusted EPS $0.17  $0.17  $0.08  $0.01 
                 

                                                                                                  
*
     Includes tax rate reduction as a result of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.