Adtran Q3 Profit Up 75% On Higher Sales, Lower Expenses

(RTTNews) - Networking and communications equipment provider Adtran, Inc. (ADTN) on Tuesday reported a 75 percent year-over-year increase in profit for the third quarter, reflecting higher sales and lower operating expenses. Sales for the quarter beat analysts' expectations.

Tom Stanton, Chief Executive Officer of Adtran said, "The performance for the quarter was driven by lower operating expenses combined with a strong performance by both our Carrier and Enterprise businesses. The results were positively impacted by our international business which achieved a record revenue level."

Huntsville, Alabama-based Adtran's net income for the third quarter was $16.21 million or $0.28 per share, up from $9.27 million or $0.15 per share in the prior-year quarter.

Excluding items, adjusted earnings were $0.32 per share, compared to $0.20 per share in the same period last year. On average, nine analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.22 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Total sales for the quarter grew 9 percent to $177.40 million from $162.13 million in the same quarter last year and beat analysts' consensus estimate of $173.83 million.

Selling, general and administrative expenses declined 4 percent from the year-ago period to $32.79 million, while research and development expenses decreased 9 percent to $32.54 million.

Operating income for the quarter rose to $17.21 million from $10.28 million in the prior-year quarter.

Adtran said its board declared a cash dividend of $0.09 per share for the third quarter, to be paid to holders of record at the close of business on October 24. The ex-dividend date is October 22 and the payment date is November 7.

ADTN closed Tuesday's regular trading session at $26.75, down $0.23 or 0.85 percent on a volume of 807,480 shares. In after-hours, the stock further declined $0.25 or 0.93 percent to $26.50.