Tempe, Ariz. –
Rockford increased its sales, net profit and gross margins in its fiscal second
quarter and first half.
Net sales rose
14.2 percent in the quarter ending June 30 to $17 million and rose 18.9 percent
in the first half to $33.6 million. Net income rose in the quarter to $1.8
million from a year-ago $1.1 million and in the first half to $3.1 million
compared with a year-ago $1.8 million. Gross margin as a percent of net sales
rose to 38.3 percent in the quarter from a year-ago 36.7 percent. Gross margins
in the first half rose to 39 percent from a year-ago 37 percent.
Sales growth in
both periods came in all of the car electronics company’s sales channels:
aftermarket, international and OEM.
Gross margins grew
in both periods primarily because of lower returns and discounts as a percentage
of sales, higher overall sales, and increased OEM royalty revenue, the company
said.
The company noted that it announced a “slight”
price rise at the end of the quarter because of currency fluctuations and
rising commodity prices.
The company also
said its OEM business is rebounding because of an improving new-car market and
that Japan-based automakers are returning to normal production schedules. OEM
royalty revenues for the half hit $1.4 million, up from a year-ago $1.1
million.
In other comments
in the company’s earnings report, president/CEO William Jackson said the
company’s Renegade and Lightning Audio brands “continue to do well and have
grown each quarter.” He also said the new Brax and Helix brands “are beginning
to have an impact in the market.” The Helix plug-and-play products, designed to
upgrade factory systems “with minimal installation time and disruption to the
vehicle,” are “beginning to open new opportunities for us in the marketplace,”
he said.
