Maxwell Technologies (MXWL) Q1 Loss In Line, Sales Up Y/Y

Maxwell Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:MXWL) reported adjusted loss of 16 cents per share in first-quarter 2018, in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The figure was narrower than a loss of 23 cents in the year-ago quarter.

Excluding one-time items, the company incurred a GAAP loss of 25 cents per share, lower than the year-ago quarter’s loss of 32 cents.

Revenues

Maxwell Technologies’ first-quarter revenues of $28.4 million surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $28.2 million by 1%. The top line improved 6.5% from the year-ago quarter’s figure of $26.7 million.

Although high voltage revenues dropped 56.5% in the quarter, energy storage revenues improved 61.6%, which led to overall improvement in total revenues.

Operational Highlights

In the quarter under review, the company’s cost of revenues was $22.7 million, up 10.5% year over year.

Total operating expenses were $15 million (or 52.9% of revenues) compared with $15.3 million (or 57.3% of revenues) in the prior-year quarter.

Interest expenses as of Mar 31, 2018 were $1 million compared with $0.06 million in the prior-year quarter.

Financial Condition

As of Mar 31, 2018, Maxwell Technologies had cash and cash equivalents of $40.1 million compared with $50.1 million as of Dec 31, 2017.

As of Mar 31, 2018, long-term debt (excluding current portion) was $35.6 million compared with $35.1 million as of Dec 31, 2017.

Guidance

Maxwell Technologies expects total revenues in the range of $28-$33 million in second-quarter 2018 and projects adjusted net loss to be 18 cents per share. Adjusted gross margin is expected to be 21.5% plus or minus 150 basis points. Adjusted operating expenses are projected in the range of $12.6-$13 million.

Zacks Rank

Maxwell Technologies carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

Performance of Other Electronics - Miscellaneous Components

A few better-ranked stocks in the same industry are Littelfuse, Inc. (NASDAQ:LFUS) , TE Connectivity Ltd. (NYSE:TEL) and OSI Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:OSIS) . Littelfuse sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), while TE Connectivity & OSI Systems carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The companies delivered an average positive earnings surprise of 9.93%, 7.54% and 9.39%, respectively, in the past four quarters.

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