American Science & Engineering Inc fka ASEI

[stocktrader001]

UPDATE 1-American Science and Engineering Q2 beats, shares rise

AMERICAN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING, INC.
ASEI.O
$84.65
+2.71+3.31%
8:07pm GMT+0100

OSI SYSTEMS, INC.
OSIS.O
$36.35
-1.04-2.79%
8:06pm GMT+0100

Tue Nov 9, 2010 1:18pm EST

* Q2 EPS $1.59 vs est $1.20

* Sales up 32 pct

* Shares touch three-year high

Nov 9 (Reuters) - Security systems maker American Science and Engineering (ASEI.O) posted better-than-expected quarterly results as rising significance of security in public places drove demand for its products, sending the shares up 4 percent to almost a three-year high.

The company, which makes x-ray inspection systems to protect high-threat facilities and help combat terrorism, trade fraud, and drug and weapon smuggling, said second-quarter bookings rose 29 percent to $116.2 million from a year ago.

American Science and Engineering is known for its high-margin Z Backscatter technology that can detect explosive materials hidden under a person's clothing. For the July-September quarter, the company earned $14.7 million, or $1.59 a share, compared with $10.7 million, or $1.18 a share, a year ago.

Sales at the company, which competes with OSI Systems Inc (OSIS.O), rose 32 percent to $80.6 million.

Analysts on average were expecting earnings of $1.20 a share on revenue of $71.2 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Shares of the Billerica, Massachusetts-based company were trading up 3 percent at $84.69 Tuesday afternoon on Nasdaq.

The company's shares, valued at $744.5 million, have risen 14 percent in value in the last six months. (Reporting by Soham Chatterjee in Bangalore; Editing by Vyas Mohan)

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSSGE6A80PL20101109