AASTRA TECHNOLOGIES $18.20 (Toronto symbol AAH; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (905-760- 4200; www.aastra.com; Shares outstanding: 11.6 million; Market cap: $208.7 million; Dividend yield: 4.4%) develops and markets products and systems for accessing communication networks, including the Internet. Its technology is centred around business telephone systems and includes products that integrate land lines and mobile phones.
In the three months ended March 31, 2013, the company’s sales fell 9.3%, to $133.5 million from $147.3 million a year earlier. Sales declined in most regions, especially Western Europe, where Aastra gets the majority of its revenue. Excluding the impact of foreign exchange rates, sales declined 10.4%. Earnings per share fell to $0.01 from $0.12.
Balance sheet remains strong
Aastra holds cash of $117.8 million, or a high $10.16 a share, and has no long-term debt. The company spends a high 11% of its revenue on research and development.
The weak European economy has hurt demand for the company’s products and forced it to cut its prices. Aastra needs a sustained economic recovery on the continent—including in Germany and France, the company’s two biggest markets—to raise its sales and push up its earnings. Meanwhile, Aastra trades at 20.2 times the $0.90 a share that it should earn in 2013, but at just 10.8 times its forecast 2014 earning of $1.68.
The shares yield 4.4%, and the dividend appears safe: Aastra’s cash flow was $33.2 million in 2012, and it only paid out $9.9 million in dividend payments to its shareholders.
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