Powell Industries Announces Fiscal 2010 Second Quarter Results

HOUSTON, May 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Powell Industries, Inc. (Nasdaq: POWL), a leading manufacturer of equipment and systems for the management and control of electrical energy and other critical processes, today announced results for the fiscal 2010 second quarter ending March 31, 2010.

Revenues for the second quarter of fiscal 2010 were $142.1 million compared to revenues of $164.1 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2009.  Net income for the second quarter was $9.9 million, or $0.85 per diluted share, compared to net income of $8.9 million, or $0.77 per diluted share, in the second quarter of fiscal 2009.

Patrick L. McDonald, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "Our exceptional performance yielded strong results in the second quarter. We are pleased with our initiatives to strengthen project management and continue to see improvements in operational efficiency. We are excited about our recent acquisition in Canada, which has received a favorable response from both customers and employees.  

"Our marketplace remains one of uncertainty, and we believe the events of the past week in the Gulf of Mexico may make the decisions of our oil and gas customers even more difficult in the near term. Currently, we are unable to predict when the economic issues and regulatory environment will stabilize and confidence to bring about new U.S. capital infrastructure investments will return. Our focus continues to be on our customer relationships and our ability to maintain the capabilities and resources to support our customers on projects not only in the U.S. but around the world."

The Company's backlog as of March 31, 2010 was $313 million compared to $342 million as of December 31, 2009 and compared to $486 million at the end of last year's second quarter.  New orders placed during the second quarter of fiscal 2010 totaled $113 million compared to $108 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2010 and compared to $154 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2009.

OUTLOOK

The following statements are based on the current expectations of the Company.  These statements are forward-looking, and actual results may differ materially as further elaborated in the last paragraph below.  

Based on its backlog and current business conditions, Powell Industries expects full year fiscal 2010 revenues to range between $550 million and $575 million and full year fiscal 2010 earnings to range between $2.10 and $2.35 per diluted share.

CONFERENCE CALL

Powell Industries has scheduled a conference call for Wednesday, May 5, 2010 at 11:00 a.m. eastern time.  To participate in the conference call, dial 480-629-9692 at least 10 minutes before the call begins and ask for the Powell Industries conference call.  A replay of the call will be available approximately two hours after the live broadcast ends and will be accessible until May 12, 2010.  To access the replay, dial 303-590-3030 using a passcode of 4285994#.

Investors, analysts and the general public will also have the opportunity to listen to the conference call over the Internet by visiting http://www.powellind.com.  To listen to the live call on the web, please visit the website at least fifteen minutes before the call begins to register, download and install any necessary audio software.  For those who cannot listen to the live webcast, an archive will be available shortly after the call and will remain available for approximately 90 days at http://www.powellind.com.

Powell Industries, Inc., headquartered in Houston, designs, manufactures and packages systems and equipment for the control, distribution and management of electrical energy and other dynamic processes.  Powell provides products and services to large industrial customers such as utilities, oil and gas producers, refineries, petrochemical plants, pulp and paper producers, mining operations, commuter railways and other vehicular transportation facilities.   For more information, please visit www.powellind.com.

Any forward-looking statements in the preceding paragraphs of this release are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties in that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements.  In the course of operations, we are subject to certain risk factors, competition and competitive pressures, sensitivity to general economic and industrial conditions, international political and economic risks, availability and price of raw materials and execution of business strategy.  For further information, please refer to the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, copies of which are available from the Company without charge.

SOURCE Powell Industries, Inc.