Owing to defense sales, Vuzix Corp reported a rise in sales that resulted in a smaller loss in the second quarter, according to report.
The company posted a net loss of $927,539, or less than a penny a share, down from nearly $1.4 million in losses, or less than a penny a share, one year ago.
Sales were $2.3 million, up 21.6 percent from $1.9 million a year ago. The video eyewear maker reported its earnings Friday, after the market closed.
Its net loss also was cut in half in the first six months to some $1.3 million, or less than a penny a share, compared with $2.9 million, or less than a penny a share, a year ago. In the first half, sales were $6.4 million, up 61 percent.
The improvement, Vuzix officials noted, mainly was due to defense products being a larger percentage of overall sales and the high margins the company is earning on its augmented reality products.
Paul Travers, president and CEO, said that despite improved performance Vuzix continues to struggle with capital constraints.
“We currently have a $3.8 million backlog for our defense products and ongoing engineering services programs. Among the key drivers of our expected continued growth is our line of Tac-Eye rugged display systems which continues to gain program wins in the defense markets and sales of our augmented reality products,” he said.
Vuzix, with 66 employees, has been outfitting its video eyewear with technology that can superimpose computer-generated graphics and video onto the real world surrounding its user. The applications are called augmented reality, a trend that is widening as the potential uses are discovered. AR so far is being deployed in industrial, military, commercial and academic sectors.
Two new AR product launches are being made this month. One will be the company’s first model with transparent optics. It is to be used in the defense market.
“With its integrated head tracker and HD camera, we expect this model to be attractive to augmented reality researchers and users,” Travers said.
Shares of Vuzix (OTC BB: VUZI.OB) traded at 8 cents a share Monday afternoon, unchanged from Friday’s close.
About Vuzix
Vuzix Corporation is a publicly traded company and the pioneer in manufacturing Video Eyewear and personal display devices for the mobile video, entertainment, defense and commercial markets. Since 1997, the company has been developing advanced proprietary display technology for the military and industrial sectors and laid the foundation for its leadership position in the emerging consumer Video Eyewear market Vuzix introduced the Video Eyewear product category in 2005 with its award-winning model V920. Since then, Vuzix has been a consistent winner of numerous Consumer Electronics Show awards for innovation in design and engineering.
