Ubiquiti's (UBNT) Winning Streak Continues In Q3 Earnings

Ubiquiti Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBNT) continued its winning streak with another striking earnings beat, as its third-quarter fiscal 2016 adjusted earnings (including stock-based compensation adjustments) came in at 62 cents a share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 53 cents by 17%.

Investors applauded the company’s solid results, as shares soared over 7.9% in after hours trading following the release.

GAAP earnings for the company came in at 62 cents per share, rising 34.8% on a year-over-year basis.

Significant product launches coupled with notable strength in the Enterprise Technology segment boosted the company’s results.

Inside the Headlines

Revenues rose 13.5% year over year to $167.4 million and surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $164 million. Strong performance of UniFi AC access points and other products primarily drove sales growth.

The company’s Enterprise Technology segment fared remarkably well, with revenues rising a whopping 72.6% year over year to $71.1 million. The striking growth was fuelled by products like UniFi AC access points and UniFi Switch, coupled with Enterprise market products. This robust growth was partially offset by weak revenues of $96.3 million in the Service Provider Technology segment, which represented a decline of 9.4% year over year. Service Provider Technology top line growth was hurt by delays in upgrading and expanding networks.

On a geographic basis, revenues in Asia continued to be strong, rising 22.2% year over year. Also, North America, and Europe, the Middle East and Africa were up 26.5% and 9.7% respectively over the comparable period last year. However, South America witnessed a 13.5% revenue decline.

Non-GAAP gross margin for the quarter increased 440 basis points (bps) year over year to 49.2%. The continued expansion in gross margin was attributable to an improved product mix, coupled with sustained cost-cutting strategies and steady product pricing.

Product Launches

Keeping its momentum of new offerings alive, Ubiquiti released UniFi 8- and 16-Port Gigabit Switches, which can deliver powerful performance with their independent switching ports. The company also launched the UniFi Video Camera G3 and G3 Dome cameras, which are the next generation versions of the UniFi Video surveillance management system.

At the same time, Ubiquiti shipped the scalable airFiber X with the airFiber NxN, in addition to introducing the airFiber AF 4X and AF-11X, which are full-duplex licensed spectrum backhaul radios with industry-leading spectral efficiency and TDD throughput.

Liquidity & Share Repurchases

Ubiquiti ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $496.7 million, compared with $496.7 million as of Dec 31, 2015. Long-term debt was $146 million, up from $87.5 million as of Jun 30, 2015.

Also, during the quarter, the company exhausted the full $50 million available under its stock repurchase program approved last November.

Guidance

Based on the current environment, the company has released its guidance for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2016. Management expects revenues in the range of $170–$180 million. Non-GAAP earnings are expected within 61–67 cents per share, while GAAP earnings per share are projected to be in the band of 60 to 66 cents.

Our Take

We believe that strong demand of Ubiquiti’s products in end markets will improve its prospects, going forward. The company’s strong commitment toward research and development activities for cultivating innovative products and state-of-art technologies is impressive and bodes well for the long term. Finally, the government’s “e-Rate” funding program in the U.S. will likely unlock multiple opportunities for Ubiquiti, thereby improving its prospects.

Ubiquiti currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in the industry include TDK Corp. (OTC:TTDKY) , Rogers Corp. (NYSE:ROG) and Fabrinet (NYSE:FN) . Each of these stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).