Firan Technology soars after profitable fourth quarter

Shares of Firan Technology (Firan Technology Stock Quote, Chart, News: TSX:FTG) are up sharply today in this, the second day of trading since the company reported Q4 results that were cheered by the street.

Firan earned $1.18-million on revenue of $16.49-million in its fourth quarter, a significant beat over fiscal 2013’s earnings of $197,000 on a topline of $15.42-million. The quarter helped the company turn an annual loss of six cents a share in 2013 into earnings of eleven cents in 2014. Management said an improvement in gross margins could be attributed in part to cost-saving initiatives and the weakening of the Canadian dollar.

CEO Brad Bourne said the good times were long in the making.

“Our globalization strategy began to bear fruit in 2014,” he said. “Significant cost had been incurred in previous years to achieve this objective, but it has now positioned FTG favourably in the marketplace and enabled significant growth. This growth, coupled with strong operating performance and benefits from some external factors, such as the weakening of the Canadian dollar and lower commodity prices, resulted in much improved profitability in 2014.”

Founded in 1983, Toronto-based Firan supplies aerospace and defense electronic products, specializing in quick turn around production runs. The company’s clients include Bombardier, Rockwell Collins and Bell Helicopter.

At press time, shares of Firan Technology were up 27.8% to $1.15.