Earnings turnaround makes Gennum a buy

Article Excerpt

GENNUM CORP. $7.15 (Toronto symbol GND; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 35.4 million; Market cap: $253.1 million; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.6; Dividend yield: 2.0%; SI Rating: Average) makes equipment that stores, manipulates and transfers video signals. It also makes chips that improve the flow of data inside computer networks. In its first quarter, which ended February 28, 2010, Gennum’s revenue rose 52.5%, to $29.5 million from $19.4 million a year earlier (all amounts except share price and market cap in U.S. dollars). The company mainly sells its products to television broadcasters, and the improving economy is giving these clients more money to spend on new equipment. Demand for its data-communication products is also rising. Higher sales were the main reason why Gennum earned $0.12 a share (or a total of $4.0 million) in the latest quarter. It lost $0.02 a share (or $844,000) a year earlier. Gennum spent $8.3 million (or 28.2% of its sales) on research. That’s…