NORTHVILLE — The thermal management technology developer Gentherm Inc. (NASDAQ: THRM) Thursday reported net income of $19.5 million or 53 cents a share for the second quarter ended June 30, up from $16.4 million or 46 cents a share a year earlier. Revenue was $213.4 million, up from $206.2 million a year earlier.
For the six months, net income was $39.3 million or $1.08 a share, up from $33 million or 92 cents a share a year earlier. Revenue was $420.4 million, up from $400.1 million in the first half of 2014.
“We had a very busy and productive quarter, and we are seeing solid business activity and growth in all of our divisions around the world,” said president and CEO Daniel R. Coker. “Our new business launches are also going well … based on the very strong early market testing of the new Atmos mattress, we expect the bed business to grow significantly during the second half of the year. We are growing revenues solidly in terms of local currencies in Europe, Canada and Asia, but the strength of the U.S. dollar has impacted our revenue translated into U.S. dollars by more than $25 million for the first half compared with the prior year. Fortunately, our costs are being affected favorably by exchange rate shifts so there has been no significant negative impact on profits from the revenue reduction.”
Also, after the close of the quarter, the company was awarded its first contract for its new battery thermal management system, a thermoelectric cooling system for batteries used in hybrid and electric vehicles. The five-year contract, awarded by an unnamed automaker, could generate up to $25 million in annual revenue with the first shipments to begin for model year 2017, Coker added.
“This is a very significant contract win for us because it opens up a brand new global market for Gentherm and enables us to leverage our thermal management technology and skills in an important new product category,” Coker said. “As future vehicles become more and more electrified, their batteries need to be actively cooled to ensure a longer service life. The design created by our engineers has proven it can uniquely cool virtually any kind of battery packaging configuration used in vehicles in our target markets. We expect this to be a significant new growth opportunity for us that should increase as we work with more vehicle manufacturers and the hybrid and electrified vehicle markets expand.”
Gentherm’s revenue from climate-controlled seats rose 12 percent to $95.9 million in the quarter. Seat heater revenue fell 10 percent to $74.1 million, reflecting a stronger U.S. dollar on this European-dominated segment.
Due to the sharply stronger U.S. dollar, the company said it now expects 2015 revenue will be just below the low end of its previous guidance, which was a 10 to 15 percent increase over 2014 revenue of $811 million.
To listen to a replay of a conference call discussing these results, visit www.gentherm.com.