Topic: How To Invest

Hi Pat: Could I get your advice on a company called Com Dev? Thank you.

Article Excerpt

Com Dev International Ltd., $3.06, symbol CDV on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 76.3 million; Market cap: $233.5 million; www.comdev.ca), sells hardware and services for use in space, such as systems and microsatellites for communications, science and military applications. Com Dev makes its products in Canada, the U.K and the U.S. Its majority-owned subsidiary, exactEarth, provides spaced-based Automatic Identification System services. This is a tracking system used on ships for identifying and locating nearby vessels to avoid collisions. In the three months ended April 30, 2012, Com Dev’s revenue fell 5.6%, to $50.1 million from $53.1 million a year earlier. The revenue split between the company’s three main markets was 54% commercial, 28% government and 18% military. Revenue from government and military clients was relatively steady compared to a year earlier, while revenue from businesses fell by $2.7 million. That’s mainly because the company saw a big jump in new corporate orders in the year-ago quarter. Earnings climbed to $4.9 million, or $0.07 a share, from…