Irvine, CA, April 30, 2004--Newport Corporation reported financial results for its first quarter ended April 3, 2004, announcing the fifth consecutive quarter of growth in new orders. The company had a net income of $1.1 million, or $0.03 per diluted share, in the first quarter of 2004, compared with a net loss of $5.9 million, or $0.15 per diluted share, in the first quarter of 2003. Results for the first quarter of 2003 include the treatment of the company's former metrology business and its Minnesota operation as discontinued operations, reflecting the completed divestitures of those operations.
Sales for the first quarter of 2004 totaled $42.4 million, 27% higher than the $33.3 million recorded in the first quarter of 2003, and 17% higher than the $36.2 million recorded in the fourth quarter of 2003. Income from continuing operations for the first quarter of 2004 was $1.1 million ($0.03 per share), compared with a loss from continuing operations of $3.9 million ($0.10 per share) in the first quarter of 2003, and a loss from continuing operations of $1.7 million ($0.04 per share) in the fourth quarter of 2003.
New orders received in the first quarter of 2004 totaled $44.2 million, an increase of 36% compared with the $32.5 million received in the first quarter of 2003 and an increase of 18% compared with the $37.5 million received in the fourth quarter of 2003. Newport concluded a major two-year restructuring effort in 2003, which reduced its breakeven point to below $40 million in quarterly sales, according to Robert G. Deuster, chairman and chief executive officer.
Research and development (R&D) expense for the first quarter of 2004 was $3.8 million, compared with $5.0 million in the first quarter of 2003 and $4.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2003. The lower R&D expense in the first quarter of 2004 compared with the prior-year period resulted from reductions in R&D spending in the fiberoptic communications area, as well as from the company's overall efforts to maximize the focus and efficiency of its R&D activities. The company reaffirmed that it will continue to fund key R&D efforts, focusing on those projects most likely to yield future sales growth.
