BAY SHORE, N.Y. - Air Industries Group (NYSE American: AIRI), a key supplier of aerospace and defense components, reported an increase in its fourth-quarter earnings for 2023, reflecting higher net sales and operating income compared to the same period in 2022.
The company also released its initial business outlook for 2024, anticipating sales to at least match the previous year's with improved Adjusted EBITDA.
For the fourth quarter of 2023, Air Industries achieved net sales of $13.47 million, a slight decrease from the $13.89 million reported in the same quarter of 2022. However, the company saw a significant rise in gross profit from $710,000 in 2022 to $2.15 million in 2023, with gross margin improving to 16.0% from 5.1%. This uptick resulted in an operating income of $587,000, a substantial improvement over the $820,000 operating loss recorded in the fourth quarter of 2022.
The full-year figures show net sales of $51.52 million in 2023, down from $53.24 million in 2022. Despite this, the company managed to reduce its net loss to $2.13 million in 2023 from $1.08 million in 2022, while also improving its gross margin slightly from 14.0% to 14.4%.
The company's backlog as of December 31, 2023, stood at $98.3 million, marking a 14.7% increase from the previous year. The book-to-bill ratio for 2023 was 1.20x, indicating a healthy order intake relative to sales, and a significant improvement from the .75x ratio in 2022.
Air Industries also reported a strong cash flow from operating activities, reaching $4.86 million in 2023, up from $448,000 in 2022. The company's total debt under its current credit facility was reduced by $2.89 million, with all financial and business covenants being met.
Looking ahead, Air Industries expects its net sales for fiscal 2024 to be at least $50.0 million, with Adjusted EBITDA projected to be meaningfully better than in 2023. These preliminary results and the 2024 outlook are based on a press release statement from the company.
Air Industries will host a conference call today to further discuss its Q4 and FY 2023 results, as well as its business outlook for 2024. The call will provide an opportunity for investors and analysts to gain more insight into the company's performance and expectations.
InvestingPro Insights
Air Industries Group's (NYSE American: AIRI) recent fourth-quarter earnings report showed mixed results, with a dip in net sales but an increase in gross profit. While the company's outlook for 2024 is optimistic, a deeper dive into the financial metrics provided by InvestingPro reveals a more nuanced picture.
InvestingPro Data indicates that Air Industries has a Price to Earnings (P/E) Ratio of -4.61, reflecting the company's current lack of profitability over the last twelve months as of Q3 2023. Despite this, the company's Price to Book (P/B) ratio stands at 1.07, suggesting that the stock may be reasonably valued in relation to its net assets.
One of the notable InvestingPro Tips for AIRI is that the company's valuation implies a strong free cash flow yield, which aligns with the reported increase in cash flow from operating activities in 2023. This could be a positive signal for investors looking for companies with the potential to generate cash.
Still, another tip points out AIRI's weak gross profit margins, which, despite improvement, remain a concern, as evidenced by the gross profit margin of 11.53% for the last twelve months as of Q3 2023.
While the company does not pay a dividend, which might deter income-focused investors, the 44.62% price total return over the last three months suggests a strong recent performance in the stock market. This is further supported by a 63.58% price total return over the last six months.
For investors seeking additional insights, there are more InvestingPro Tips available for AIRI, which can be accessed by visiting: https://www.investing.com/pro/AIRI. To gain access to these valuable tips, use the coupon code PRONEWS24 to get an additional 10% off a yearly or biyearly Pro and Pro+ subscription. Currently, there are 9 additional InvestingPro Tips listed for Air Industries Group, offering a comprehensive analysis of the company's financial health and stock performance.
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