ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, January 7, 1997 TAG: 9701070080
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: GREG EDWARDS STAFF WRITER
Optical Cable Corp. - a Roanoke County manufacturer of fiber-optic cable for the transmission of audio, video and data communication - on Monday reported significant increases in sales and net income for its fourth quarter and fiscal year.
The company said it had sales of $13.8 million in the quarter ended Oct. 31, a 37.2 percent increase from sales a year earlier of $10 million.
Quarterly net income before taxes was $4.02 million, a 40.6 percent increase from the same period of 1995, the company said.
Results for the quarter reflected greater sales in all market segments and product types, the company said. "We are more than pleased with the results," company President Robert Kopstein said.
"We continued to do great through year end," he said.
The company's efforts in previous years to develop customer contacts appear to be paying off, Kopstein said. The company will continue to push even harder in all market segments in the days ahead, he said.
For its fiscal year, Optical Cable reported net sales of $45.2 million, a 24.2 percent increase from sales of $36.4 million the year before. Net income before taxes for the year was $12 million, a 46.7 percent increase from a year earlier.
Additionally, the company said its net income after pro forma income taxes for the fourth quarter of 1996 was $2.52million, or 6 cents per share of common stock, and for the year ended Oct. 31 was $7.5 million, or 19 cents per share.
Optical Cable, which sold stock to the public for the first time in March 1996, did not report net income after taxes on a pro forma basis for the previous year. Last spring's stock offering drew wide national attention and produced a sharp runup in its price. Optical Cable stock closed Monday on the Nasdaq stock market at $11.50 a share, down 50 cents from Friday.
The company plans to move this month into an addition that will double the size of its facilities in Valleypointe business park. Additional production equipment was ordered during the fourth quarter and will be brought on line during the first quarter of this year, the company said.
LENGTH: Short : 45 linesby CNB