Clearfield Inc. (CLFD)

[10 bagger]

Clearfield, Inc. Reports Fiscal 2012 1st Quarter Results
Clearfield Continues Growth in Revenue and Net Income

Orders in backlog as of December 31, 2011 totaled $1,698,000 in comparison to $2,388,000 as of December 31, 2010, a decrease of $690,000, or 29%.

Revenues: $9,165,000, up 26% from fiscal year 2011
Gross Profit: $3,794,000, up 28% from fiscal year 2011
Net Income: $1,000,000, up 99% from fiscal year 2011
Net Income per Share: $0.08 cents per diluted share
Balance Sheet December 31, 2011 Remains strong with $16,567,000 in cash and investments and no debt.

MINNEAPOLIS, Jan. 26, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Clearfield, Inc. (Nasdaq:CLFD), the specialist in fiber management and connectivity platforms for communications providers, today announced results for its first quarter of fiscal year 2012, which ended December 31, 2011.

Revenue for the first quarter 2012 was $9,165,000 in comparison to $7,247,000 for the first quarter 2011, an increase of 26%. Gross profit was $3,794,000 for the first quarter of 2012, in comparison to $2,966,000 for the first quarter of 2011, an increase of approximately 28%. Gross margin for the first quarter 2012 was 41.4%, up from 40.9% in first quarter 2011. Operating expenses were $2,773,000 for the first quarter 2012, an increase of 13% from the first quarter of 2011. Operating income was $1,021,000, up $515,000, or 102%, from $507,000 recorded in the first quarter of 2011. Net income was $1,000,000 for the first quarter 2012, compared to net income of $501,000 in the first quarter 2011.

Orders in Backlog and Select Balance Sheet Highlights

Orders in backlog as of December 31, 2011 totaled $1,698,000 in comparison to $2,388,000 as of December 31, 2010, a decrease of $690,000, or 29%. Cash and investments at December 31, 2011 totaled $16,567,000 compared to $15,837,000 for the quarter ending September 30, 2011, an increase of $730,000. The Company has no long-term debt.

Commentary- Cheryl Beranek, President & CEO of Clearfield

"Our revenue gains continue to be a positive indicator of the acceptance of our product line within our target markets," comments Cheryl Beranek, president and CEO of Clearfield. "We typically see some seasonal weakness in our winter quarters due to customer budget cycles and winter-build challenges, but our continued growth over the same period last year is within our targets for the quarter. We continue to increase our investment in sales, marketing and product development initiatives while enhancing our net income position."

"While low in relationship to historical figures, our backlog numbers are consistent with our expectations. The long-lead times and limited availability of fiber has resulted in some customers shying away from the placement of blanket or project orders with any supplier outside of their long-haul fiber vendors," Beranek continues.

"Stimulus-based activity continues to contribute revenue on a small scale with projects targeted for a ramp-up in the summer-build season. In addition to our FTTp market development projects, our work associated with the development of business class services in the cable-television markets as well as providing cell-backhaul connectivity for the community servicing the wireless broadband providers, is continuing to take root.

"Over the past months, we have been able to bring a number of new products to market. I am especially pleased that Clearfield has been able to extend our product lines as well as develop new markets while enhancing our year-over-year gross profit position. Moving forward, we are continuing to invest in new product technologies that will be introduced in the months and quarters ahead."

About Clearfield, Inc

Clearfield, Inc. (Nasdaq:CLFD) designs, manufactures and distributes fiber optic management products for the communications networks of leading ILECS, CLECs, MSO/cable TV companies and mobile broadband providers. We help service providers solve the Fiber Puzzle, which is how to reduce high costs associated with deploying, managing, protecting and scaling a fiber optic network to deliver the mobile, residential and business services customers want. Based on the patented Clearview™ Cassette, our unique single-architected, modular fiber management platform is designed to lower the cost of broadband deployment and maintenance by consolidating, protecting and distributing incoming and outgoing fiber circuits and enable our customers to scale their operations as their subscriber revenues increase. Headquartered in Plymouth, MN, Clearfield deploys more than a million fiber ports each year.