A Com Dev employee tests a part in the satellite equipment maker's lab in Cambridge, Ont., March 20, 2008.Geoff Robins for The Globe and Mail
Com Dev International Ltd. has turned around its third-quarter results to post a $3.7-million profit in the three months ended July 31.
The Ontario-based supplier of space hardware and maritime tracking services said Friday that the profit amounted to $0.05 per share, compared with a loss of $1.7-million or $0.02 per share in the comparable fiscal 2010 period.
Revenue slipped 4 per cent to $50.5-million from $52.3-million.
Com Dev said it won $47-million in new orders in the quarter, unchanged from a year ago. However, when expected follow-on orders are considered, the third-quarter total reached $74-million compared with $69-million a year earlier, the company said.
Backlog at July 31 was $123-million, plus an additional $27-million in follow-on orders for a total of $150-million, up from an expected total backlog of $144-million a year earlier.
"The third quarter was one of solid execution," chief executive officer Michael Pley, said in remarks accompanying the results.
"Gross margins continue to recover as the impact of the remaining low-margin programs diminishes and the more recently added contracts perform to our expectations," he said.
"Having also maintained effective control over operating expenses, we recorded our best quarterly profit in over two years."