LightPath Technologies Achieves Record Annual Profit

September 20, 2013—Optical component manufacturer LightPath Technologies (U.S.A.) has announced a record profit of US$11.78 million for the fiscal year (FY) ending 30 June 2013, an increase of 4 percent over FY 2012 revenues. The company’s earnings statement attributed the growth to “strong demand for our optics across a broad base of our market segments,” along with cost reductions implemented in FY 2013, which improved the company’s gross margin to 44 percent. Also helping the bottom line were higher sales of its precision molded lenses for telecom and laser tooling markets and custom optics. For 2013, president and CEO Jim Gaynor remarked, “We demonstrated strong operating leverage with increases in both EBITDA and sales, resulting in LightPath’s first profitable fiscal year!”
 
The Florida company increased revenue for its precision molded optics products by 18 percent for the fourth quarter of FY 2013 from the fourth quarter of FY 2012, in spite of a net loss of $244,000 for the quarter. The company’s precision molded optics include aspheric lenses for laser tools, telecom, digital projectors, weapons sights and green lasers, demonstrating that continued demand will spread across multiple markets and applications.
 
Revenue for the past three months ending 30 June 2013 grew to $3.13 million, an increase of 1 percent over the fourth quarter 2012 revenue of $3.10 million. This growth is expected to continue over the next several quarters, driven by demand for infrared products and low-cost precision molded optics sold to Asia.
 
Gaynor predicted ongoing growth in the optical market due to growth in four market areas:  cloud computing, streaming video distribution, wireless broadband and machine-to-machine connections. Cloud computing and streaming video on mobile and smart TVs requires larger and faster network bandwidths, as does machine-to-machine technology, which connects wireless and wired devices.
 
Despite the optimism, LightPath stock was down from a 30-day peak of $1.65/share as of the 5 September earnings call, to $1.35/share as of 19 September.