SigmaTron Reports Q2 Financial Results for Fiscal 2019

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SigmaTron International, Inc. reported revenues and earnings for the quarter ended October 31, 2018. Revenues increased to $77 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2019 from $73 million for the same quarter in the prior year. Net income decreased to a net loss of $723,941 in the second fiscal quarter compared to net income of $736,115 for the same period in the prior year. Basic and diluted loss per share were each $0.17 for the quarter ended October 31, 2018 compared to basic and diluted earnings per share of $0.18 and $0.17, respectively, for the same quarter in fiscal 2018.

For the six months ended October 31, 2018, revenues increased to $148.4 million compared to $144.2 million for the same period ended October 31, 2017. Net loss for the six-month period ended October 31, 2018 was $1,250,548 compared to net income of $1,118,997 for the same period in the prior year. Basic and diluted loss per share for the six months ended October 31, 2018, were each $0.30 compared to basic and diluted earnings per share of $0.27 and $0.26, respectively, for the six months ended October 31, 2017.

Commenting on SigmaTron’s second quarter, fiscal 2019 results, Gary R. Fairhead, president, chief executive Officer and Chairman of the Board, said, “Our second quarter is disappointing in terms of our net income but it was a better quarter than the first quarter as we achieved both revenue growth and pre-tax income. Unfortunately, our net income number was negatively impacted due to a tax valuation allowance related to operations in Vietnam and China.

“While we experienced good revenue growth which occurred near the end of the second quarter, we begin the third quarter facing major challenges as a result of the trade dispute between the United States and China. First, as to our cash flow, customers are delaying payment as they review tariff billings. Second, the significant additional paperwork and administration the trade dispute creates is non-income generating. Third, many of our customers are reassessing their supply chains which is resulting in additional time and energy commitments from SigmaTron management. Finally, and most importantly, we are beginning to see signs that the tariffs are starting to negatively affect our projected revenue into 2019. We believe that trend will accelerate during the third quarter.

“In addition to the trade dispute, the new administration in Mexico took office on December 1, 2018. They have not made any final announcements regarding a new compensation structure in Mexico, but have previously indicated this will happen.  Any increase in their labor costs will need to be passed on to our customers.

“On a positive note, we have seen some improvement in the electronic component marketplace with regards to lead-time.  Prices are not falling and in some cases continue to increase, but there have been fewer decommitments by suppliers and some lead-times have shortened. As our customers continue to weigh the positives and negatives related to production in Mexico or China, we remain in a position to provide our services through either location which is a benefit of our global footprint.

“We have seen several new programs that were previously delayed finally go into production, which is good news. We are actively addressing with customers where appropriate price increases as a result of increased interest rates and labor cost. We expect to have some of these price increases in place by January 1, 2019. We continue to have some interesting new opportunities that we are working on as well. I fully expect that the third quarter will remain volatile and unpredictable but the trajectory going forward still remains positive.  Hopefully the China trade dispute will be resolved early next year.”