Ocean Power Technologies CEO: 2008 will be "exciting"

Will Atkinson | Dec 17, 2007 2:07pm EST | Comment

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Ocean Power Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: OPTT) CEO George Taylor said calendar 2008 will be an “exciting” year for the Pennington, N.J.-based company. The firm makes buoys that generate electricity by harnessing the energy of ocean waves. Taylor made the comments during a midday conference call.

“We believe that we are very well positioned to build on the strong foundations that are being established this year and continue to enjoy great success,” Taylor said.

Before the opening, Ocean Power reported second-quarter revenue of $1.7 million, up 204% from $0.6 million a year earlier. CFO Chuck Dunleavy said the increase in revenue was primarily attributable to an increase in ongoing work on a Hawaii project for the U.S. Navy, work on construction of a 1.3-megawatt station off the coast of Spain, work on the design, manufacture and installation of a buoy in Scotland and work on a contract with the U.S. Navy to provide PowerBuoy technology to a program for ocean data gathering.

The firm incurred a quarterly loss of $1.9 million, or $0.18 per share, compared with a loss of $2.3 million, or $0.45 per share, during the same period of 2006. Analysts were expecting a loss of $0.34 per share.

For the three months ended Oct. 31, the company’s cost of revenues grew to $1.9 million, from $1.2 million a year earlier.

“This increase in cost of revenues primarily reflected the higher level of activity on revenue-bearing contracts,” Dunleavy said.

The company’s selling, general and administrative costs increased 133% to $1.4 million, from $0.6 million in the year-ago quarter.

“This increase in SG&A was attributable to higher marketing costs, professional fees and other costs incurred as a result of becoming a public company in the United States, plus additional payroll and incentive-based costs,” Dunleavy said.

The company’s net cash used in operating activities totaled a loss of $5.7 million, from $3.7 million a year earlier.

“Going forward, we expect our cash burn over the balance of this year to show a slight increase over the first half of fiscal 2008 as we continue to develop our PB150 product,” Taylor said. “With our strong cash position and careful cash management, we have the financial capability to maintain and extend our building momentum, as well as enhance our competitive position by continuing to develop and improve our technology.”

In midday trading, OPTT shares are up 1.30%, or $0.16, at $12.51. Over the last 52 weeks, shares have ranged from $1.65 to $24.