For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011, Zoltek, headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, reports net sales of US$43.1 million, compared to $31.1 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2010.
Zoltek reports an operating income of $1.0 million for the latest quarter and net income of $4.6 million. In the fourth quarter of the previous fiscal year, the company saw an operating loss of $1.9 million and a net loss of $0.4 million.
For the 2011fiscal year as a whole, Zoltek's net sales were $151.7 million, an increase of 18.1% on fiscal 2010. The company reports an operating loss of $4.7 million and a net loss of $3.6 million for 2011, compared to an operating loss of $10.6 million and a net loss of $6.3 million in fiscal 2010.
"We are pleased to report improved results for the latest quarter and steadily improving results for fiscal 2011 as a whole," says Zsolt Rumy, Zoltek Chairman and CEO.
"We are excited and optimistic about our prospects for accelerating growth and further improvement in our performance in fiscal 2012 and beyond."
Wind energy growth
"We are seeing significant expansion in our sector of the wind energy market – using our carbon fibres in the construction of the world's biggest and most efficient wind turbines," Rumy reports.
"We believe this sector will continue to grow because it is economically viable and less government dependent. We are actively executing our plans to capitalise on several important opportunities to support this expansion in 2012 and 2013."
"Over the last two years, we have added sales and support personnel in Asia and entered into negotiations with customers and potential customers in international high growth wind energy markets. Zoltek now offers an array of services and products that enable wind turbine manufacturers around the world to work with our carbon fibres. Our value-added products and services include assistance in the design of blades, prepregs and infusible fabrics, and tooling design using application equipment."
In anticipation of large expected increases in 2012 and beyond, Zoltek re-started its precursor and carbon fibre lines in Mexico. In addition, Zoltek is growing its carbon fibre prepreg capabilities by opening a new 135 000 ft2 facility outside of St. Louis, Missouri.
"One of our goals is to leverage our leadership in commercial carbon fibers to become the leading provider of carbon fibre prepreg in the global marketplace over the next few years," Rumy notes.
"Zoltek's research and development centre, to support our targeted applications with high volume manufacturing and processing technologies, also will be located at this new facility."