Quarterhill Inc T.QTRH

An IRD comparable (Yahoo Finance)

[cabbieJBJ]

Iteris Reports Q4 Loss, Beats Revenue Expectations

Iteris, Inc. (ITI) posted a loss in the fourth quarter but reported better-than-expected revenue.

Iteris provides software and consulting services for smart mobility infrastructure management, and produces sensors and other devices that record and predict traffic conditions.

The company reported a loss of $0.01 per share compared to earnings of $0.03 per share in the prior-year period.

Total revenue for the quarter increased 10% year-over-year to $31.71 million versus the Street’s estimates of $31.45 million. Revenue from Roadway Sensors grew 9%, while Transportation Systems revenue was up 3%. (See Iteris stock analysis on TipRanks)

On an annual basis, total revenue was up 9% to $117.14 million year-over-year, including Roadway Sensors growth of 15% and Transportation Systems growth of 4%. The company reported earnings of $0.01 per share, compared to a loss of $0.04 per share last year.

Looking ahead, the company projects FY22 total revenue to be in the range of $132 million to $142 million.

Joe Bergera, President, and CEO of Iteris said, “Despite the challenges of COVID-19, our ClearMobility strategy demonstrated measurable operating leverage… Additionally, we made good progress delivering against our ClearMobility roadmap, and the successful acquisition and integration of TrafficCast accelerated the development of Iteris’ ClearMobility Cloud.”

Following the results, Northland Securities analyst Michael Latimore assigned a Buy rating to the stock and lifted the price target to $10 (from $9), which implies 37.4% upside potential to current levels.

Latimore said, “We view Iteris as being uniquely positioned to provide an intelligent transportation PaaS, improving safety and efficiency via better data insights.”

The rest of the Street is cautiously optimistic about the stock with a Moderate Buy consensus rating based on 2 Buys. The average analyst price target of $10.50 implies 44.6% upside potential to current levels. Shares have gained 50% over the past year.

According to TipRanks’ Smart Score system, Iteris gets a 7 out of 10, which indicates that the stock is likely to perform in line with market averages.

 

[mrmoribund]

I admit that I have only a fuzzy understanding of Iteris. Most of the big players in ITS seem to have been historically centred on toll collection--either old toll collection (with toll booths) or new toll collection (electronic, like Toronto's 407). This would include, among many others, Kapsch (based in Austria) and Q-Free (based in Norway). Makes sense because that's where

[cabbieJBJ]

It's the valuation that gets my attention.  Iteris annual revenue is US$117M and its market cap is US$296M.  The market cap is projected to grow >$400M in the current fiscal. Roadway sensors is their high growth area: +15% in the latest year (+19% in Q4). Where you get the idea that anyone was giving up on Sensor Line?

[cabbieJBJ]

Some additional commentary FYI Mrmoribund. From the earnings call transcript (https://www.fool.com/earnings/call-transcripts/2021/06/02/iteris-iti-q4-2021-earnings-call-transcript/?source=eptyholnk0000202&utm_source=yahoo-host&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=article): Roadway sensors segment reported fourth-quarter revenue of $15 million, representing a 19% year-over-year increase and

[mrmoribund]

My remark about Sensor Line was inspired by the section on Products > Detection Sensors in the Iteris website. Iteris there seems to be downplaying the need for in-ground sensors. See the last sentence: We are the Industry's Detection Experts   Iteris offers the widest suite of reliable and cost-effective video detection, radar detection and hybrid detection solutions

[mrmoribund]

Actually, I was kind of assuming there that their (Iteris's) "hybrid" solution was a hybrid of video and radar, though they later speak of "other" in-ground. So it might be that they do offer in-ground sensors as part of their "hybrid" solution. Their wording could be a little clearer.

[cabbieJBJ]

Thanks Mrmoribund.  Iteris still derives 48% of revenue from in-road sensors and that segment is growing at +25% pa.

[mrmoribund]

I think you're confusing their Roadway Sensors segment with in-road sensors (sensors that are actually built into the road). They refer to Visual, Radar, and Hybrid sensor solutions. What they are calling Hybrid might include in-road sensors or it might just mean a hybrid of Visual and Radar. My guess would be that it's the latter because I cannot find anything in their documents that

[cabbieJBJ]

This thread is getting into the weeds. My initial point was valuation. EBIDTA is @0.26 per share. Share price is ~$7.00. I have posted previously that I terms could be an acquisition target, although your point on tolling has merit as does rail.

[mrmoribund]

Weeds? Maybe, but there's an important question related to in-road sensors vs. camera sensors. Wiil the latter ultimately be able to supplant the former? If the cameras and related hardware can become so good that there will ultimately be no need for in-road then buying Sensor Line was a mistake. I'm sure the reality must be that there will always be some projects where you need in-road.

[Justhalffull]

(Where camera based systems can't)  There are many US states and Canadian provinces who enforce infractions directly, some against the vehicle owner, and some by using facial recognition software to identify and ticket the driver.