Buoyed by a wave of new orders from the oil and gas industry, Ottawa’s C-COM Satellite Systems more than doubled its profit in fiscal 2018 – the 14th consecutive year the company has finished in the black.
C-COM (TSX-V:CMI) posted a net income of $2.3 million, or six cents a share, in the 12-month period ending Nov. 30, 2018, up from $1.04 million a year earlier. The firm reported full-year revenues of $13.5 million in 2018, an increase of more than 31 per cent over 2017’s total of $10.3 million.
C-COM credited a “rebound” in the oil and gas industry for a surge in sales of its mobile satellite equipment products, as well as new demand from clients in the military, mobile banking and emergency response sectors.
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“C-COM has seen a slow but steady rebound of new orders in 2018 from both existing and new customers,” the company said in regulatory filings.
The Ottawa tech firm ended the fiscal year in style, posting revenues of just under $5 million in the fourth quarter – its 31st consecutive profitable quarter and the company’s best three-month stretch since 2011. C-COM turned a net profit of $1.36 million in the quarter, up from $758,000 in 2017.
CEO Leslie Klein was in an upbeat mood following Wednesday’s earnings announcement.
“We have significantly increased our sales and profits, generated incremental business from new product development, and added a significant number of new resellers to our worldwide distribution network, all of which contributed to our fiscal success,” he said in a news release.
C-COM develops, manufactures and deploys commercial satellite antenna technology that enables high-speed Internet, VoIP and video services in vehicles. It’s particularly focused on remote areas, such as the far north in Canada and Russia as well as deserts in Australia and Saudi Arabia.
In financial filings Wednesday, the company said it’s preparing to unveil cutting-edge new products aimed at expanding its market reach.
Among its anticipated new offerings is a line of small, “backpack-like” antennas designed to be carried by a single person and assembled “in about eight minutes without the use of tools.”
The carbon-fibre units aimed at customers in the emergency response and military sectors are being tested now and are expected to be on the market before the end of the year, the firm said.
C-COM said it’s also working with researchers at the University of Waterloo to develop “next-generation” antenna systems that will be compatible with emerging 5G wireless technology. The firm said it expects to have a prototype ready for testing in the next few months.
C-COM shares were up six cents to $1.46 in late-afternoon trading on the TSX Venture Exchange.
