Strong third-quarter sales in North America for Microfluidics International Corp.’s microfluid processing equipment pushed the Newton, Mass.-based company into the black.
Microfluidics posted net income of $425,000 on sales of $4.5 million during the three months ended Sept. 30, compared with a net loss of $1.1 million on sales of $3.5 million. That’s a top-line surge of 27 percent.
The company cited a 63 percent surge in North American sales, from $2 million during the third quarter of 2008 to $3.2 million during Q3 2009. Foreign sales, however, were off 19 percent, falling to $1.3 million from $1.5 million last year.
Microfluidics markets high-shear fluid processors that make micro- or nano-scale fluid particles.
But it wasn’t only top-line growth that drove the results; the company shaved total operating expenses by nearly 19 percent, from $2.8 million during the year-ago period to $2.4 million during the just-ended quarter. As a percentage of revenues, total operating expenses fell 27.1 percent.
CEO Michael Ferrara said the results are the fruit of a restructuring plan the company rolled out last year and marks the first quarterly profits since he entered the Microfluidics corner office in Dec. 2007.
Last week, the company arranged a $1 million revolving credit line with Webster Bank, which it plans to use working capital “in support of Microfluidics’ global growth strategy and general corporate purposes,” according to a press release.