Itron announces jump in earnings by Charles Redell - 5.2.08
LIBERTY LAKE, WASH.
Itron, Inc. (Nasdaq: ITRI), announced its first quarter earnings on Thursday. The company, based in Liberty Lake, Wash., outside of Spokane, provides solid state meters that incorporate communications technology for electricity, gas, water and heat applications.
In the first quarter of the year, Itron reported $478 million in revenues, $331 million higher than the same period last year. The sharp rise in revenues is largely due to Itron’s 2007 purchase of Actaris, which is now Itron’s international division. The company’s domestic division—Itron North America—had revenues of $150 million in the first quarter, $8.5 million higher than Q1 2007.
Itron set a new record for cash provided by operating activities during the first quarter of 2008, reaching $56 million versus $7 million in 2007. The company’s first quarter earnings reached $72 million in 2008.
Itron’s product lines include advanced meter reading (AMR) technology which reduces the need for utilities to send meter readers to individual sites in order to read meters and provides utilities with detailed data on customer energy usage. AMR technology also makes it possible for retail, commercial and industrial utility customers to monitor their energy usage and take part in demand-side management efforts to lower peak-hour power usage by shutting off non-essential items.
Interest in AMR technology continues to increase as utilities across the country look for ways to modernize their electric transmission and distribution grids in an effort to reduce strain on the nation's aging transmission system. Although the installation of AMR technology comes with a high upfront cost, it tends to pay off for both customers and utilities in the long run. During a study done last year by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory on Washington's Olympic Peninsula, 112 homes received AMR technology and software to help them track their energy usage and respond to real-time pricing signals. The project showed that using the technology can reduce peak load on the grid by about 15 percent a year.
