MILWAUKEE, Wis., Oct. 14, 2002 -- Badger Meter Inc. reported increased sales and earnings for the third quarter ended September 30, 2002.
Net sales for the third quarter of 2002 were $45,952,000, a 29% increase from sales of $35,575,000 for the same period in the prior year. Sales increased $4,207,000 or 12 percent due to new acquisitions. Net earnings were $2,307,000 or $0.70 per diluted share for the third quarter of 2002, a 143% increase from earnings of $951,000 or $0.29 per diluted share for the third quarter of 2001.
For the first nine months of 2002, net sales were $126,992,000, a 21% increase from sales of $104,978,000 for the same period in 2001. Sales increased $6,707,000 or 6 percent due to new acquisitions. Net earnings increased 158% in the first nine months of 2002 to $6,234,000 or $1.89 per diluted share, compared to earnings of $2,414,000 or $0.73 per diluted share for the same period in the prior year.
"Our improved performance was driven by strong sales of residential and commercial water meters, including sales of meters for automatic meter reading (AMR) systems as part of our successful alliance with Itron, Inc. Sales of automotive fluid meters and electromagnetic flowmeters also increased in the third quarter," said Richard A. Meeusen, president and chief executive officer of Badger Meter.
Meeusen said the company continued to ship meters for large automatic meter reading projects in Houston and other cities during the quarter, as well as for projects in Latin America. "Our sales were up 17% in the third quarter, excluding the results of two recent acquisitions, indicating the strength of our core water meter business," he said.
He said sales of the company's valves, concrete meters and other industrial products decreased in the third quarter. "Sales of these industrial products continue to be affected by the downturn in the economy and the markets they serve," he said.
Meeusen attributed the significantly higher earnings to improved sales of higher-margin automated meter reading products, the positive impact of the higher sales on manufacturing capacity utilization and ongoing expense controls.
Meeusen noted that the company made an additional contribution of $9,400,000 to its pension plan in the third quarter to maintain funding for the plan at appropriate levels.
Badger Meter began shipping two new products at the end of the third quarter. The company's new Orion® series is a radio frequency drive-by system that eliminates the need for FCC licensing by the water utility. "With the Orion series and the radio frequency AMR products manufactured by Itron, Inc., we now have a comprehensive line of AMR products that meets a variety of customer requirements," said Meeusen.
The second new product is a fluid management system that was introduced in Europe at the end of September. The new system utilizes the company's automotive fluid meters in a complete system that manages oil, grease and transmission fluid inventories for customers including automotive service stations, garages and dealers.
"Both new products are off to a good start and we are pleased with the customer interest we have received in the initial introductory period," said Meeusen.
"We made excellent progress in the first nine months of 2002. We are especially pleased with the performance of our water utility product lines," he added.
Badger Meter is a leading marketer and manufacturer of flow measurement and control technology, developed both internally and with other companies, as well as the leader in providing digital connectivity to leading AMR technologies. Its products are used to measure and control the flow of liquids in a variety of applications.
Badger Meter company news is available 24 hours a day, on-line at: http://www.badgermeter.com.
Source: Badger Meter, Inc.
