07 Feb 13. FLIR Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: FLIR) announced financial results for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2012. Revenue was $386.4m, down 5% compared to fourth quarter 2011 revenue of $405.2m. Operating income in the fourth quarter was $100.1m, compared to $109.7m in the fourth quarter of 2011. Fourth quarter 2012 net income was $77.3m, or $0.52 per diluted share, compared with net income of $76.1m, or $0.48 per diluted share in the fourth quarter a year ago. Cash provided by operations in the fourth quarter was $112.9m. During the quarter, the Company repurchased 4.5m shares of its common stock at an average price of $18.84 per share.
Revenue from the Company’s Commercial Systems division decreased 5% from the fourth quarter of 2011, to $212.8m. Within the Commercial Systems division, revenue from the Thermal Vision and Measurement segment was $180.1m, a decrease of 5% from the fourth quarter results last year. The Raymarine segment contributed $32.7m of revenue during the fourth quarter, down 7% from the prior year. Revenue from the Company’s Government Systems division decreased 4% from the fourth quarter of 2011, to $173.5m. Within the Government Systems division, revenue from the Surveillance segment was $136.4m, a decrease of 7% from the fourth quarter of 2011. Revenue from the Detection segment was $12.8m, a decrease of 46% compared to the fourth quarter of 2011, and the Integrated Systems segment contributed $24.4m of revenue during the fourth quarter, an increase of 134% from the prior year. For the full year, revenue was $1,405.4m, down 9% compared to $1,544.1m for the year ended December 31, 2011. Operating income for 2012 was $303.3m, down 3% from $313.2m in 2011. Net income for 2012 was $222.4m, or $1.45 per diluted share, compared with 2011 net income of $221.5m, or $1.38 per diluted share. Cash provided by operations during the year was $285.5m.
The Company’s backlog of firm orders for delivery within the next twelve months was approximately $520m as of December 31, 2012, a decrease of $45m during the quarter. Backlog in the Government Systems division was $356m, decreasing $36m during the quarter. Backlog in the Commercial Systems division was $164m, down $9m during the quarter.
“The fourth quarter was an encouraging end to a 2012 that was focused on rationalizing our businesses to enhance operating leverage and prepare us well for 2013,” said Earl Lewis, President and CEO of FLIR. “We saw higher bookings in the fourth quarter versus the prior year, helping us end 2012 with over $60m more in order backlog than 2011. We also reached record operating cash flow for the year, which allowed us to acquire two very strategically significant businesses and return a significant amount of capital to our shareholders through repurchasing 10.5m of our shares and distributing $42m in dividends.”
Revenue and Earnings Outlook for 2013
FLIR also announced that it expects revenue in 2013 to be in the range of $1.5bn to $1.6bn, an increase of approximately 7% to 14% compared to 2012, and net earnings to be in the range of $1.56 to $1.66 per diluted share, an increase of approximately 8% to 14% compared to 2012.
Dividend Increase and Declaration FLIR’s Board of Directors has approved a quarterly cash dividend of $0.09 per share on FLIR common stock, an increase of 29% over the previous paid quarterly dividend of $0.07 per share. The Board of Directors has declared the dividend payable March 8, 2013, to shareholders of record as of close of business on February 19, 2013.
Share Repurchase Program
Also, FLIR announced that its Board of Directors approved a new share repurchase program that authorizes up to 25m shares to be repurchased over the next two years, replacing the previous program that expires on February 9, 2013. This authorization represents approximately 17% of FLIR’s outstanding common stock as of December 31, 2012. Any purchases made under the repurchase program may be made from time to time in