Spire Reports Encouraging Results for Second-Quarter 2014
Spire Corporation, a global solar company providing capital equipment and turn-key manufacturing lines has announced revenues for the second-quarter ended June 30, 2014 of $3.8 million, an 8% increase from $3.6 million for the same quarter of 2013 primarily due to an increase in solar module equipment sales.
These results include the completion of a transaction previously reported in which substantially all of the assets and assumption of certain liabilities related to Spire's biomedical business were acquired by N2 Biomedical, LLC. As this transaction is being identified as giving rise to a variable interest entity and Spire is determined to be the primary beneficiary, the assets, liabilities and results of operations of N2 Biomedical, LLC are consolidated into the Company's financial statements. In addition, the 2013 transaction gave rise to a deemed dividend in the amount of $9.5 million which is not reported as a gain for financial reporting purposes and is eliminated in consolidation.
Rodger W. LaFavre, President and CEO, stated, "We continue to see an increase in demand and related growth in the global PV market in 2014. We have experienced an increase in sales for equipment components and turnkey module lines in some of our key markets and are pleased with the increase we have seen in revenue this quarter and on a year to date basis compared to our results in the previous year. Sales in our solar business unit increased 32% during the first six months of 2014 compared to the prior year. Our optoelectronics group continues to contribute to our revenue and gross margin as it builds its services support effort and we are optimistic for the future. Under current conditions we do not see the cash benefit of our turnkey lines until shipment, which is approximately four to five months from the receipt of the order. On that basis, our current reporting does not show the true benefit of our contracted line backlog."
Mr. LaFavre continued, "The continued upward trend as forecasted by the market analysts remains encouraging as it relates to the PV equipment market. We believe we are in a position to take advantage of this growth and anticipate working through our short-term working capital needs and as such, we maintain our focus on making sound financial decisions."