AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) shares reach for the sky Wednesday, on word the company swung to a profit in the third quarter. The company also said it expects FY21 earnings of $0.76 to $0.96 per share on sales of $400 million to $410 million.
Revenue for the third quarter of fiscal 2021 was $78.8 million, an increase of 27% from the third quarter of fiscal 2020 revenue of $61.9 million. The increase in revenue was due to an increase in product sales of $21.9 million, partially offset by a decrease in service revenue of $5.0 million.
Gross margin for the third quarter of fiscal 2021 was $28.6 million, an increase of 22% from the third quarter of fiscal 2020 gross margin of $23.5 million. The increase in gross margin was primarily due to an increase in product margin of $7.2 million, partially offset by a decrease in service margin of $2.1 million.
As a percentage of revenue, gross margin decreased to 36% from 38%. The decrease in gross margin percentage was primarily due to an unfavorable product mix.
Loss from operations for the third quarter of fiscal 2021 was $0.6 million, a decrease of $0.5 million from the third quarter of fiscal 2020 loss from operations of $1.1 million.
CEO Wahid Nawabi said, “Our team delivered year-over-year increases in revenue, gross margin, diluted earnings per share and Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share in the third quarter, despite the ongoing challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We continue to shape our portfolio with three transformative acquisitions that we are confident will accelerate our success and value creation. Our acquisition of Arcturus UAV extends our reach and expands our solutions portfolio with medium UAS, which addresses a more than $1 billion segment of the UAS market.”
AVAV climbed $5.52, or 5.2%, to $111.89.