Itron has recorded a strong second quarter with revenues of $489 million, an increase of 1.5 percent over the prior year.
Philip Mezey, Itron’s president and CEO attributes the strong quarter to their strong execution in our gas and water segments, which more than offset a decrease in the electricity segment.
In view of this growth, the company has increased the financial guidance for the full year, Mezey added.
“In addition, we are making progress on the performance improvement plans for the electricity segment which will be a key driver of long-term company profitability,” Mezey said.
With its broad range of smart grid alternatives for both public and private networks, Itron is poised to grab the big opportunity in the market. Utility spending is high in several key markets. In particular, North America business has improved and looks to be strong through the end of the year, Itron CEO said.
In the water segment, Itron sees growth in smart and advanced systems in communication modules.
In Gas, many customers are increasing their capital spending, following a colder-than-usual winter. This is driving higher volumes of gas meters, regulators and communication modules.
In electricity segment, the company’s backlog has increased this year with significant contracts for electric smart grid projects including FirstEnergy, Duke Energy and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power among others.
Itron sees good potential sales activity in Asia Pacific for all three industry segments. Latin America looks relatively consistent to last year overall with increased opportunities in Gas and Water. EMEA is not as strong as the other geographies. Business in EMEA remains uneven with bright spots in Gas and Water, including heat metering and heat allocation business in the Water segment. The situations in the Ukraine and the Middle East add to uncertainty, Mezey said.
Some of the recent customer wins during the quarter include $23 million with Duke Energy in Q2. Other notable bookings in the quarter include a contract for electric cellular meters with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, a managed hosting contract with the Southern Connecticut Gas and significant water bookings with Veolia in France, Aqua America Utility Group in Ohio and Sanepar in Brazil, among others.
The Q2 result also marks their third consecutive quarter of year over year growth in both revenue and adjusted EBITDA.