Westford's Earnings Trifecta
Westford has built up a solid base of companies over the years, and last week three of them released earnings within less than 23 hours of each other.
NetScout Systems, Kadant Inc. and Sonus Networks don't have much in common beyond their shared geography, but they are important providers of jobs and investment in Westford, a town of nearly 22,000 people.
NetScout, which makes network and application products for IT teams, is located in Tech Park West. The company reported a fourth-quarter profit of $12.9 million on $89.4 million in revenue, up from a profit of $10.7 million on $77.9 million in revenue during the same quarter a year ago.
For the fiscal year, the company made $32.4 million on $308.6 million in revenue. Annual profits were down from $37.2 million on $159.9 million during fiscal 2011.
NetScout acquired three companies during the year: Psytechnics, Simena and Fox Replay.
Because of those acquisitions, NetScout took the unusual step of providing first-quarter guidance, predicting revenue to be in the range of $73 million to $76 million. The company normally only provides annual guidance.
Kadant's Growth
Kadant, which makes equipment and systems for the pulp and paper industry and is headquartered on Technology Park Drive, saw its first-quarter profits rise to $7 million from $5.8 million a year ago. Revenues rose from $71.6 million to $84.1 million over that period.
The company said its growth during the quarter was driven by a "significant increase" in its stock-preparation and water-management product lines, which grew by 40 percent and 59 percent, respectively.
More than half of the company's business comes from outside North America. Europe saw the strongest growth during the quarter, with revenues there growing from $14 million to $19 million. Revenue from China grew by $3 million. And North American revenue grew $1.5 million to $39.7 million.
Photo Courtesy: David Castillo Dominici
Sonus Sees Loss
While its Westford brethren saw earnings increase in their most recent quarters, Sonus, an IP networking company, saw its profit dip into the negative, falling from $3.7 million a year ago to a loss of $6.4 million in its first quarter this year.
The loss was driven by higher operating costs and lower revenue in both its products and services. Revenue fell 12 percent to $41.4 million in its first quarter.
The company expressed optimism in an earnings statement about its session border controller product line. The devices are used in voice-over-IP (voIP) networks.
Revenue from that line was $13.2 million, down from $17.5 million a quarter ago but up sharply from $2.3 million in the first quarter of 2011.
"We will continue to innovate and enhance our SBC product portfolio this year, further expanding our addressable market and strengthening our competitive advantage," said Ray Dolan, president and CEO of Sonus.
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