NEWS – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ARGAN, INC. ANNOUNCES SECOND QUARTER RESULTS
September 13, 2007 – Rockville, MD- Argan, Inc. (Amex: AGX) today announced financial results for the second quarter and six months ended July 31, 2007.
Net sales for the quarter were $53.1 million compared to $8.6 million for the three months ended July 31, 2006. Gemma Power Systems, acquired in December 2006, contributed $45.6 million in revenues for the quarter ended July 31, 2007. Revenue for the quarter ended July 31, 2007 at Southern Maryland Cable (SMC) declined to $2.5 million from $3.3 million in the same quarter last year and revenue at Vitarich Laboratories, Inc. (VLI) decreased to $5.0 million from $5.2 million. Net income for the quarter ended July 31, 2007 was $1.3 million, or $0.12 per fully diluted share based on 11,196,000 fully diluted shares outstanding, compared to a net loss of $155,000, or $0.03 per fully diluted share based on 4,549,000 fully diluted shares outstanding in the second quarter of last year.
Net sales for the six months ended July 31, 2007 were $103.6 million compared to $17.5 million for the six months ended July 31, 2006. Gemma Power Systems, acquired in December 2006, contributed $88.6 million in revenues for the first six months ended July 31, 2007. Revenue for the six months ended July 31, 2007 at SMC declined to $4.6 million from $6.5 million in the six months ended July 31, 2006 and revenue at VLI decreased to $10 million from $11 million. Net loss for the six months ended July 31, 2007 was $681,000, or $0.06 per fully diluted share based on 11,196,000 fully diluted shares outstanding, compared to a net loss of $173,000, or $0.04 per fully diluted share based on 4,179,000 shares outstanding in the six months ended July 31, 2006.
The Company believes that the Non-GAAP Measurement of Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) provides investors with a valuable supplemental measure of our operating performance. EBITDA for the second quarter ended July 31, 2007 was $4.8 million compared to $727,000 for the comparable quarter last year. EBITDA for the first six months ended July 31 2007 was $4.4 million compared to EBITDA of $1.5 million in the first six months of the last fiscal year.
Cash and cash equivalents at July 31, 2007 increased to $49.1 million from $161,000 at July 31, 2006.
Rainer Bosselmann, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer stated, “Demand at Gemma continued to be very strong and our backlog at July 31 was $205 million compared to $171 million at January 31, 2007. With 86% of our revenues in the quarter coming from Gemma, we are very well positioned to continue to benefit from the increasing demand for energy power plants. Furthermore, we made progress driving improved performance at both our SMC and VLI subsidiaries compared to the first quarter of this fiscal year. ”
Mr. Bosselmann continued, “During the quarter, we continued to experience an unexpected increase in costs related to one of our Gemma contracts. This contract has resulted in an expected loss of $8.2 million as of July 31, 2007. At this point, the project is 99% complete.”
About Argan
Argan is a publicly traded holding company focusing on companies that provide products and services to growth industries. Argan’s primary business is designing and building energy plants for the rapidly growing alternative energy sector through its Gemma Power Systems subsidiary. Argan has two other subsidiaries: Southern Maryland Cable, Inc., which provides inside premise wiring services to the federal government including military installations and government office sites requiring high-level security clearance and also provides underground and aerial construction services and splicing to major telecommunications and utilities customers; and Vitarich Laboratories, a farm to market, vertically integrated private label manufacturer that manufactures, packages and distributes premium nutraceutical products, including nutritional and whole food dietary supplements and other personal healthcare products.
This press release contains forward-looking statements. The words or phrases "would be," "will allow," "intends to," "will likely result," "are expected to," "will continue," "is anticipated," "estimate," "project," or similar expressions are intended to identify "forward-looking statements." Argan’s financial and operational results reflected above should not be construed by any means as representative of the current or future value of its common stock. All information set forth in this news release, except historical and factual information, represents forward-looking statements. This includes all statements about the Company's plans, beliefs, estimates and expectations. These statements are based on current estimates and projections, which involve certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include issues related to: rapidly changing technology and evolving standards in the industries in which the Company and its subsidiaries operate; the ability to obtain sufficient funding to continue operations, maintain adequate cash flow, profitably exploit new business, license and sign new agreements; the unpredictable nature of consumer preferences; and other factors set forth in the Company's most recently filed annual report and registration statement. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which reflect management's analysis only as of the date hereof. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly revise these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that arise after the date hereof. Readers should carefully review the risks and uncertainties described in other documents that the Company files from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
| Investor Relations Contact: |
| | |
| Rainer Bosselmann/Arthur Trudel | John Nesbett/Jennifer Belodeau |
| Institutional Marketing Services (IMS) |
| | 203.972.9200 |
Tables To Follow
ARGAN, INC.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations
(Unaudited)
| | | Three months ended July 31, | | Six months ended July 31, | |
| | 2007 | | 2006 | | 2007 | | 2006 | |
| Net sales | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Power industry services | | $ | 45,599,000 | | $ | - | | $ | 88,953,000 | | $ | - | |
| Nutraceutical products | | | 5,036,000 | | | 5,211,000 | | | 9,985,000 | | | 11,040,000 | |
| Telecom infrastructure services | | | 2,502,000 | | | 3,349,000 | | | 4,631,000 | | | 6,482,000 | |
| Net Sales | | | 53,137,000 | | | 8,560,000 | | | 103,569,000 | | | 17,522,000 | |
| Cost of sales | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Power industry services | | | 40,590,000 | | | - | | | 83,835,000 | | | - | |
| Nutraceutical products | | | 4,122,000 | | | 3,940,000 | | | 8,288,000 | | | 8,326,000 | |
| Telecom infrastructure services | | | 1,858,000 | | | 2,678,000 | | | 3,701,000 | | | 5,001,000 | |
| Gross profit | | | 6,567,000 | | | 1,942,000 | | | 7,745,000 | | | 4,195,000 | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Selling, general and administrative expenses | | | 4,773,000 | | | 1,944,000 | | | 9,334,000 | | | 3,920,000 | |
| Income (loss) from operations | | | 1,794,000 | | | (2,000 | ) | | (1,589,000 | ) | | 275,000 | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Interest expense and amortization of subordinated debt issuance costs | | | 181,000 | | | 216,000 | | | 385,000 | | | 477,000 | |
| Interest Income | | | (653,000 | ) | | (1,000 | ) | | (1,286,000 | ) | | (3,000 | ) |
Income (loss) from operations before income taxes | | | 2,266,000 | | | (217,000 | ) | | (688,000 | ) | | (199,000 | ) |
| Income tax (expense) benefit | | | (932,000 | ) | | 62,000 | | | 7,000 | | | 26,000 | |
| Net income (loss) | | $ | 1,334,000 | | $ | (155,000 | ) | $ | (681,000 | ) | $ | (173,000 | ) |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Earnings per share: | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Basic earnings per share | | $ | 0.12 | | $ | (0.03 | ) | $ | (0.06 | ) | $ | (0.04 | ) |
| Diluted earnings per share | | $ | 0.12 | | $ | (0.03 | ) | $ | (0.06 | ) | $ | (0.04 | ) |
| Weighted average number of shares: | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Basic | | | 11,094,000 | | | 4,549,000 | | | 11,094,000 | | | 4,179,000 | |
| Diluted | | | 11,196,000 | | | 4,549,000 | | | 11,094,000 | | | 4,179,000 | |
Reconciliation to EBITDA
| | | Three months ended July 31, | | Six months ended July 31, | |
| | | 2007 | | 2006 | | 2007 | | 2006 | |
| Net income (loss) | | $ | 1,334,000 | | $ | (155,000 | ) | $ | (681,000 | ) | $ | (173,000 | ) |
| Interest expense and amortization of subordinated debt issuance costs | | | 181,000 | | | 216,000 | | | 385,000 | | | 477,000 | |
| Tax expense (benefit) | | | 932,000 | | | (62,000 | ) | | (7,000 | ) | | (26,000 | ) |
| Depreciation and amortization | | | 320,000 | | | 399,000 | | | 644,000 | | | 518,000 | |
| Amortization of intangible assets | | | 2,025,000 | | | 329,000 | | | 4,089,000 | | | 660,000 | |
| EBITDA | | $ | 4,792,000 | | $ | 727,000 | | $ | 4,430,000 | | $ | 1,456,000 | |
Management uses EBITDA, a non-GAAP financial measure, for planning purposes, including the preparation of operating budgets and to determine appropriate levels of operating and capital investments. Management also believes that EBITDA provides additional insight for analysts and investors in evaluating the Company's financial and operational performance and in assisting investors in comparing the Company's financial performance to those of other companies in the Company's industry. However, EBITDA is not intended to be an alternative to financial measures prepared in accordance with GAAP and should not be considered in isolation from our GAAP results of operations. Pursuant to the requirements of SEC Regulation G, a detailed reconciliation between the Company’s GAAP and non-GAAP financial results is provided above and investors are advised to carefully review and consider this information as well as the GAAP financial results that are disclosed in the Company’s SEC filings.
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets
(Unaudited)
| | | July 31, 2007 | | January 31, 2007 | |
ASSETS | | | | | | | |
CURRENT ASSETS: | | | | | | | |
| Cash and cash equivalents | | $ | 49,140,000 | | $ | 25,393,000 | |
| Accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $88,000 at 7/31/07 and $137,000 at 1/31/2007 | | | 30,397,000 | | | 23,030,000 | |
| Receivable from affiliated entity | | | - | | | 155,000 | |
| Investments available for sale | | | - | | | 2,283,000 | |
| Escrowed cash | | | 15,034,000 | | | 15,031,000 | |
| Estimated earnings in excess of billings | | | 3,919,000 | | | 12,003,000 | |
| Current deferred tax asset | | | 435,000 | | | - | |
| Inventories, net of reserves of $143,000 at 07/31/2007 and $104,000 at 01/31/2007 | | | 2,442,000 | | | 2,387,000 | |
| Prepaid expenses and other current assets | | | 1,512,000 | | | 643,000 | |
TOTAL CURRENT ASSETS | | | 102,879,000 | | | 80,925,000 | |
| Property and equipment, net of accumulated depreciation of $2,922,000 at 7/31/2007 and $2,379,000 at 1/31/2007 | | | 2,887,000 | | | 3,250,000 | |
| Other assets | | | 235,000 | | | 313,000 | |
| Goodwill | | | 23,981,000 | | | 23,981,000 | |
| Other intangible assets, net | | | 8,572,000 | | | 12,661,000 | |
TOTAL ASSETS | | $ | 138,554,000 | | $ | 121,130,000 | |
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY CURRENT LIABILITIES: | | | | | | | |
| Accounts payable | | $ | 33,020,000 | | $ | 44,248,000 | |
| Due to affiliates | | | - | | | 7,000 | |
| Accrued expenses | | | 6,794,000 | | | 5,873,000 | |
| Estimated loss on uncompleted contracts | | | 74,000 | | | - | |
| Billings in excess of cost and earnings | | | 46,223,000 | | | 15,705,000 | |
| Current portion of long-term debt | | | 2,584,000 | | | 2,586,000 | |
TOTAL CURRENT LIABILITIES | | | 88,695,000 | | | 68,419,000 | |
| Deferred income tax liability | | | 495,000 | | | 1,471,000 | |
| Other liabilities | | | 21,000 | | | 14,000 | |
| Long-term debt | | | 5,423,000 | | | 6,715,000 | |
TOTAL LIABILITIES | | | 94,634,000 | | | 76,619,000 | |
STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY | | | | | | | |
| Preferred stock, par value $0.10 per share; 500,000 shares authorized; no shares issued and outstanding | | | - | | | - | |
| Common stock, par value $0.15 per share; 30,000,000 shares authorized; 11,097,245 shares issued and 11,094,012 shares outstanding at 7/31/2007 and 1/31/2007 | | | 1,664,000 | | | 1,664,000 | |
| Warrants outstanding | | | 849,000 | | | 849,000 | |
| Additional paid-in capital | | | 57,285,000 | | | 57,190,000 | |
| Accumulated other comprehensive loss | | | (13,000 | ) | | (8,000 | ) |
| Accumulated deficit | | | (15,832,000 | ) | | (15,151,000 | ) |
| Treasury stock at cost; 3,233 shares at 7/31/2007 and 1/31/2007 | | | (33,000 | ) | | (33,000 | ) |
TOTAL STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY | | | 43,920,000 | | | 44,511,000 | |
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY | | $ | 138,554,000 | | $ | 121,130,000 | |
