Record Order Bookings and Backlog Going Forward…Given that this quarter covers the period when everybody thought the world was going to fall apart in January and February the number that they were able to put up are very respectable given the significant cap ex decisions that are made with ATS.
A weak quarter could have been expected given the weak backlog entering the quarter. Looking forward the strength in the Order Bookings with 23% growth and Order Backlog leaving Q4 3% higher than last year bodes well for the future.
By segment, it is positive to see the continued bounce back in the Energy business come back being up 9%. It is reassuring that they mention continued order activity and interest in Consumer Products and Life Sciences remains strong as the Life Sciences was weak in the Q. It is clearly more about timing than anything else which allows you to get in before the orders come at a good stock price.
Sticking with this one even if she gets rocky in trading the next week as it is in my opinion that the order book is stable and will continue to grow as more of a focus is put on automation as labour costs continue to drive higher, given the global diversification of ATS this leads to optionality for growth in all geographic regions as global growth ebs and flows between regions of the world.