ESCO Technologies
ESE
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ESCO Technologies - 10-Q quarterly report FY


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

Form 10-Q


(Mark One)

(X) Quarterly Report Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 For the quarterly period
ended December 31, 1997

or

( ) Transition Report Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 For the transition period
from ______to______

Commission file number 1-10596


ESCO ELECTRONICS CORPORATION

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)


Missouri 43-1554045
(State or other jurisdiction of (I.R.S. Employer
incorporation or organization) Identification No.)

8888 Ladue Road, Suite 200 63124-2090
St. Louis, Missouri (Zip Code)
(Address of principal executive offices)



Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (314) 213-7
200


Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed
all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months
(or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to
file such reports) and (2) has been subject to such filing
requirements for the past 90 days. Yes X No

Number of common stock trust receipts outstanding at January
31, 1998: 11,844,478 receipts.





PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Item 1. Financial Statements



ESCO ELECTRONICS CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations
(Unaudited)
(Dollars in thousands, except per share amounts)

<TABLE>
Three Months Ended
December 31,
------------------

1997 1996
---- ----
<S> <C> <C>
Net sales $ 78,077 68,899
------- ------
Costs and expenses:
Cost of sales 56,048 51,939
Selling, general and administrative expenses15,532 12,951
Interest expense 1,691 277
Other, net 1,071 730
------ ------
Total costs and expenses 74,342 65,897
------ ------
Earnings before income taxes 3,735 3,002
Income tax expense 1,125 820
------ ------
Net earnings $ 2,610 2,182
======= ======
Earnings per share: - Basic $ .22 .18
======= ======
- Diluted .21 .18
======= ======

See accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial
statements.
</TABLE>


ESCO ELECTRONICS CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets
(Dollars in thousands)

<TABLE>

December 31, September 30,
1997 1997
<S> <C> <C>
Assets (Unaudited)
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents $ 1,735 5,818
Accounts receivable, less allowance for
doubtful accounts of $415 and $462,
respectively 44,107 48,612
Costs and estimated earnings on long-term
contracts, less progress billings of
$60,774 and $56,451, respectively 52,373 54,633
Inventories 66,098 45,110
Other current assets 3,933 2,794
------- -------
Total current assets 168,246 156,967
------- -------
Property, plant and equipment, at cost 138,765 135,002
Less accumulated depreciation and
amortization 42,557 38,470
------- -------
Net property, plant and equipment 96,208 96,532
Excess of cost over net assets of purchased
businesses, less accumulated amortization
of $3,152 and $2,735, respectively 57,647 54,996
Deferred tax assets 47,451 48,510
Other assets 21,043 21,182
------- -------
$390,595 378,187
======= =======
Liabilities and Shareholders' Equity
Current liabilities:
Short-term borrowings and current maturities
of long-term debt $ 44,000 25,500
Accounts payable 33,061 38,238
Advance payments on long-term contracts,
less costs incurred of $1,422 and
$1,624, respectively 5,548 6,348
Accrued expenses and other current
liabilities 24,481 24,590
------- -------
Total current liabilities 107,090 94,676
------- -------
Other liabilities 26,535 28,548
Long-term debt 49,000 50,000
------- -------
Total liabilities 182,625 173,224
------- -------
Commitments and contingencies - -
Shareholders' equity:
Preferred stock, par value $.01 per share,
authorized 10,000,000 shares - -
Common stock, par value $.01 per share,
authorized 50,000,000 shares; issued
12,490,674 and 12,478,328 shares,
respectively 125 125
Additional paid-in capital 195,115 194,663
Retained earnings since elimination of
deficit of $60,798 at September 30, 1993 18,591 15,981
Cumulative foreign currency translation
adjustment (101) 196
Minimum pension liability (181) (181)
------- -------
213,549 210,784
Less treasury stock, at cost; 656,445
and 689,945 common shares, respectively (5,579) (5,821)
------- -------
Total shareholders' equity 207,970 204,963
------- -------
$390,595 378,187
======= =======
See accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial
statements.
</TABLE>



ESCO ELECTRONICS CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(Unaudited)
(Dollars in thousands)

<TABLE>
Three Months Ended
December 31,
------------------
1997 1996
---- ----
<S> <C> <C>
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net earnings $ 2,610 2,182
Adjustments to reconcile net earnings to net
cash used by operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization 4,773 2,558
Changes in operating working capital (21,448) (6,374)
Other 219 365
------- -------
Net cash used by operating activities(13,846) (1,269)
------- -------
Cash flows from investing activities:
Capital expenditures (3,747) (1,753)
Acquisition of business, less cash
acquired (3,460) -
------- -------
Net cash used by investing
activities (7,207) (1,753)
------- -------
Cash flows from financing activities:
Net increase in short-term borrowings 18,500 -
Principal payments on long-term debt (1,000) (325)
Other (530) 15
------- -------
Net cash provided (used) by financing
activities 16,970 (310)
------- -------
Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents (4,083) (3,332)
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of
period 5,818 22,209
------- -------
Cash and cash equivalents, end of period $ 1,735 18,877
====== ======

See accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial
statements.
</TABLE>



ESCO ELECTRONICS CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements
(Unaudited)

1. Basis of Presentation

The accompanying condensed consolidated financial
statements, in the opinion of management, include all
adjustments, consisting only of normal recurring accruals,
necessary for a fair presentation of the results for the
interim periods presented. The condensed consolidated
financial statements are presented in accordance with the
requirements of Form 10-Q and consequently do not include
all the disclosures required by generally accepted
accounting principles. For further information refer to the
consolidated financial statements and notes thereto
included in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for
the year ended September 30, 1997. Certain prior year
amounts have been reclassified to conform with the fiscal
1998 presentation.

The results for the three month period ended December 31,
1997 are not necessarily indicative of the results for the
entire 1998 fiscal year.

2. Earnings Per Share

During the three months ended December 31, 1997, the
Company adopted the provisions of Statement of Financial
Accounting Standards (SFAS) No. 128, "Earnings Per Share."
Basic earnings per share is calculated using the weighted
average number of common shares outstanding during the
period. Diluted earnings per share is calculated using the
weighted average number of common shares outstanding during
the period plus shares issuable upon the assumed exercise
of dilutive common share options and performance shares by
using the treasury stock method. The number of shares used
in the calculation of earnings per share for each period
presented is as follows (in thousands):

<TABLE>
Three Months Ended
December 31,
------------------
1997 1996
---- ----
<S> <C> <C>
Weighted Average Shares Outstanding
- Basic 11,818 11,818
Dilutive Options and Performance Shares 764 227
------ ------
Adjusted Shares - Diluted 12,582 12,045
====== ======
</TABLE>

Options to purchase 22,750 shares of common stock at $18.00
per share were outstanding during the quarter ended
December 31, 1997, but were not included in the computation
of diluted EPS because the options' exercise price was
greater than the average market price of the common shares.
These options expire in 2007. At December 31, 1996 all
outstanding options were included in the computation of
dilutive EPS. Approximately 167,000 and 498,000 performance
shares were outstanding but unearned at December 31, 1997,
and 1996, respectively, and therefore, were not included in
the respective computations of diluted EPS. The unearned
performance shares expire in 2001.

3. Inventories

Inventories consist of the following (dollars in
thousands):

<TABLE>
December 31, September 30,
1997 1997
------------ -------------

<S> <C> <C>
Finished Goods $ 8,923 8,542
Work in process, including long-term
contracts 42,146 22,971
Raw materials 15,029 13,597
------ ------
Total inventories $ 66,098 45,110
======== ======

</TABLE>
Under the contractual arrangements by which progress
payments are received, the U.S. Government has a security
interest in the inventories associated with specific
contracts. Inventories are net of progress payment receipts
of $2.7 million and $3.2 million at December 31, 1997 and
September 30, 1997, respectively.



Item 2. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Results
of Operations and Financial Condition


Results of Operations - Three months ended December 31, 1997
compared with three months ended
December 31, 1996.

Net sales of $78.1 million for the first quarter of fiscal
1998 increased $9.2 million (13.3%) from net sales of $68.9
million for the first quarter of fiscal 1997. The sales
increase in the current quarter reflects additional
commercial sales resulting from the Filtertek acquisition
($18.0 million) and higher volume at PTI and Rantec, offset
by lower defense sales at Systems & Electronics Inc. (SEI).
Commercial sales were $46.7 million (59.8%) and defense
sales were $31.4 million (40.2%) for the first quarter of
fiscal 1998, compared with commercial and defense sales of
$26.5 million (38.5%) and $42.4 million (61.5%),
respectively, in the first quarter of fiscal 1997. The
Filtertek acquisition effectively increases the commercial
content of the Company's annualized sales in fiscal 1998 to
over 50%.

Order backlog at December 31, 1997 was $238.9 million,
compared with $228.2 million at September 30, 1997. During
the fiscal 1998 first quarter, new orders aggregating $88.8
million were received, compared with $57.1 million in the
first quarter of fiscal 1997. The increase in fiscal 1998
orders includes $18.9 million related to Filtertek. The most
significant orders in the current period were for
filtration/fluid flow products, airborne radar systems and
fire support mission equipment.

The gross profit percentage was 28.2% in the first quarter
of fiscal 1998 and 24.6% in the first quarter of fiscal
1997. The margin improvement in the first quarter of fiscal
1998 is due to an improved sales mix throughout the Company.

Selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses for the
first quarter of fiscal 1998 were $15.5 million, or 19.9% of
net sales, compared with $13 million, or 18.8% of net sales,
for the same period a year ago. The increase in fiscal 1998
SG&A expenses is primarily due to the addition of Filtertek.

Interest expense increased to $1.7 million in fiscal 1998
from $.3 million in fiscal 1997 as a result of higher
average outstanding borrowings. A significant amount of the
outstanding borrowings in 1998 were incurred in February
1997 with the acquisition of Filtertek.

Other costs and expenses, net, were $1.1 million in the
first quarter of fiscal 1998 compared to $.7 million in the
same period of fiscal 1997. The increase in fiscal 1998
primarily reflects additional goodwill amortization expense
associated with the acquisition of Filtertek in February
1997.

The effective income tax rate in the first quarter of fiscal
1998 was 30.1% compared to 27.3% in the first quarter of
fiscal 1997. The fiscal 1998 effective tax rate was
favorably impacted by the earnings contributed from the
Company's Puerto Rican operations, and refunds received
relating to state and local taxes. The effective tax rate
during the first quarter of fiscal 1997 was favorably
impacted by the settlement of a state tax liability.
Management estimates the annual effective tax rate for
fiscal year 1998 to be approximately 34%.




Financial Condition

Working capital decreased to $61.2 million at December 31,
1997 from $62.3 million at September 30, 1997. During the
first three months of fiscal 1998: accounts receivable
decreased by $4.5 million as a result of cash collections;
costs and estimated earnings on long-term contracts and
inventories increased in the aggregate by $18.7 million as a
result of near-term production requirements (primarily
TUNNER 60K Loader); and accounts payable and accrued
expenses decreased by $5.3 million through payments
necessary to satisfy commitments outstanding at September
30, 1997.

Net cash used by operating activities was $13.8 million in
the first three months of fiscal 1998 and $1.3 million in
the same period of fiscal 1997. The 1998 cash usage was
primarily due to the TUNNER 60K Loader inventory
requirements at SEI.

Capital expenditures were $3.7 million in the first three
months of fiscal 1998 compared with $1.8 million in the
comparable period of fiscal 1997. Major expenditures in the
current period include manufacturing equipment at Filtertek
and PTI.

On December 31, 1997, the Company completed the purchase of
Euroshield OY for approximately $3.5 million. Euroshield,
based in Eura, Finland, designs and manufactures high
quality shielding products used in the electromagnetic
compatibility (EMC) industry.



PART II. OTHER INFORMATION

Item 6. Exhibits and Reports on Form 8-K.

a) Exhibits

Exhibit
Number

4 Credit Agreement dated as of September
23, 1990 (as most recently amended and
restated as of February 7, 1997 and
amended as of November 21, 1997) among
the Company, Defense Holding Corp.,
the Banks listed therein and Morgan
Guaranty Trust Company of New York, as
agent.


b) Reports on Form 8-K - There were no reports on Form 8-K
filed during the quarter ended December 31,
1997.



SIGNATURE

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be
signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly
authorized.

ESCO ELECTRONICS CORPORATION



/s/ Philip M. Ford
-------------------
Philip M. Ford
Senior Vice President
and Chief Financial
Officer (as duly authorized
officer and principal financial
Dated: February 12, 1998 officer of the registrant)