Perceptron's Year Marked by Acquisitions, Sales Record

After notching two acquisitions, several laser-scanning product launches and a sales record, Perceptron Inc. has closed the books on fiscal 2015.

The industrial metrology firm recorded a net loss of $500,000 — a decline from profits of $2.4 million, or 26 cents per diluted share, in fiscal 2014.

Revenues for the year totaled $74.4 million, up 25 percent from $59.6 million in fiscal 2014, exceeding company expectations and marking a record high.

President and CEO Jeff Armstrong said Perceptron underwent significant changes in fiscal 2015.

"This year we successfully completed our first acquisitions in over 15 years, introduced more new, market-leading products than any similar period in our history, launched a global [enterprise resource planning] system implementation and diversified our business in a very meaningful fashion, with approximately 20 percent of full-year revenue from nonautomotive-sector customers," he said.

In January Perceptron took over two European companies whose business centers around probe-based coordinate measuring machines (CMMs). It acquired Coord3 Industries SRL of Italy for €2 million (about $2.2 million) and Next Metrology Software SRO of the Czech Republic for €2.25 million (about $2.5 million). Both companies contributed steady revenue, Armstrong said.

"Over time, we anticipate that higher sales of our [CMM] and 3D measurement products will tend to mitigate the quarterly variability of our in-line measurement and automation businesses," Armstrong said.

Perceptron supplies automated metrology products for the automotive, aerospace and other manufacturing industries. Products include 3D machine vision systems, robot guidance and advanced analysis software.