Broadcast business showed “significant” improvement at Harris Corp. in the second quarter, the company said, though that division still posted a loss.
“Year-over-year and sequential revenue growth, near-breakeven operating results and a book-to-bill ratio greater than 1.0 were all promising signs in the second quarter for the Broadcast Communications segment,” it reported.
In broadcast, the company reported an operating loss of $1 million in the quarter compared with a $5 million loss at the same time in 2010. Harris Broadcast has been in cost-cutting mode over that time period, it said, and these losses include costs associated with those cutbacks. “Aggregate cost-reduction actions for fiscal 2011 are still expected to result in total charges of about $5 million for the year.”
Broadcast revenue in Q2 was $130 million, compared with $117 million at this time last year and $122 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2011. Orders were off a bit though, at $134 million in Q2 compared with $139 million in the prior-year quarter and $135 million in Q1 this year.
Broadcast numbers include both radio and TV; the company doesn’t publish separate data for each. Major business in recent months, it said, included $4 million from CTV Television for transmitters to support Canada’s transition from analog to digital, $4 million from Mustafa Sultan Security Co. to build out a video distribution network and $3.4 million from Viditec S.A. in Argentina to assist in the roll-out of digital television services.
Overall for the parent company Harris Corp., revenue in Q2 was $1.44 billion, up 18% from the same time last year. Putting aside growth through acquisitions, revenue was up 9%. The company reported net income for the quarter of $151 million.