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RICHARDSON ELECTRONICS, LTD. (RELL)·Q2 2025 Earnings Summary
Executive Summary
- Q2 FY25 revenue increased 12.1% year over year to $49.5M with gross margin up 260 bps to 31.0%; net loss narrowed to $0.8M (-$0.05 diluted EPS), driven by strong GES (+129%) and PMT (+9.9%) contributions .
- Backlog rose sequentially to $142.6M (+$5.2M QoQ), led by GES; management reiterated expectations for FY25 year-over-year sales growth and higher profitability .
- Positive operating cash flow for the third consecutive quarter ($5.5M) and cash of $26.6M with no debt; quarterly dividend maintained at $0.06 per share .
- Strategic asset sale of a majority of Richardson Healthcare on Jan 24, 2025 (post-Q2) with a 10-year global supply agreement; expected to simplify the business and support higher ROI focus areas (GES) .
- Wall Street consensus via S&P Global was not available at the time of request; estimate comparisons are therefore not provided (see Estimates Context).
What Went Well and What Went Wrong
What Went Well
- GES accelerated: Q2 sales +129% YoY to $6.0M, driven by wind turbine battery modules; backlog and bookings grew over 16% QoQ in GES .
- Semiconductor wafer fab exposure improved: PMT sales +9.9% YoY; management cited rising semi demand tied to AI, data centers, 5G, and localization as a forward driver .
- Margin expansion: consolidated gross margin rose to 31.0% (+260 bps YoY); Healthcare margin improved sharply to 35.7% on mix and manufacturing efficiencies .
- Quote: “We achieved outstanding growth in our Green Energy Solutions business… Overall, second quarter sales reached $49.5 million, a solid 12% year-over-year increase.”
What Went Wrong
- Canvys softness: sales -6.0% YoY amid European macro headwinds (German IFO dipped), and freight costs pressured margins (31.7% vs 33.5%) .
- Healthcare demand lower: sales -22.8% YoY; despite margin improvements, segment sales declined across product lines .
- Operating loss persisted: operating loss of $0.7M (vs $2.0M LY) despite improved gross margin; Opex increased on incentives tied to sales growth .
Financial Results
Notes: S&P Global consensus data was unavailable; therefore, vs-estimate comparisons are not provided (see Estimates Context).
YoY snapshot (Q2 FY25 vs Q2 FY24):
- Revenue: $49.5M vs $44.1M (+12.1%)
- Gross margin: 31.0% vs 28.4% (+260 bps)
- Diluted EPS: $(0.05) vs $(0.13) (improvement)
Segment Net Sales and Gross Margin
KPIs and Balance Sheet
Guidance Changes
Earnings Call Themes & Trends
Management Commentary
- “Shipping orders from inventory on a regular basis helps improve our cash flow and expand our gross margin... we’re seeing strong momentum in our semiconductor wafer fab assembly business, rising semiconductor demand driven by advances in AI...” — Edward Richardson .
- “GE[S] sales grew 129% to $5.9 million... exclusive partnerships with the top 4 owner operators of GE wind turbines in North America: RWE, Invenergy, Enel and NextEra.” — Greg Peloquin .
- “Operating loss was $0.7 million... EBITDA approximately breakeven versus negative $1.2 million in the prior year second quarter.” — Robert Ben .
- “Two multi-million dollar production contracts... for ULTRA3000® PEMs; shipments during calendar 2025.” — Company press release .
- “Strategic asset sale of a majority of Richardson Healthcare to DirectMed... 10-year global supply agreement for repaired Siemens CT tubes.” — Company press release .
Q&A Highlights
- GES contracts and shipment cadence: Multi-million orders (GE platforms) began shipping in December; balance to ship through CY2025; inclusion on repower bill of materials expected to expedite ULTRA3000 adoption .
- Backlog visibility: Combined PMT+GES backlog ~$101M; ~80% scheduled to ship over next 12 months; GES backlog ~$44–45M slated for CY2025 shipments; substantial shipping from inventory (ULTRA3000) .
- SG&A outlook: Incentives tied to sales growth drove Q2 increase; expected to rise with sales but at a lower rate than ~10% YoY seen in Q2 .
- Locomotive programs: Electric locomotive shipment >$1M expected late Q3; starter modules forecast for 1,000 trains in CY2025, shipments commencing immediately .
- Thales tube inventory: Current balance around $30M; expected additional ~$5M purchases in CY2025; depletion timeline shortened from ~7 to ~5 years given >$20M annual sales run-rate .
Estimates Context
- We attempted to retrieve Wall Street consensus via S&P Global for Q2 FY25 (Revenue and EPS) but estimates were unavailable due to data access limits at the time of request. As a result, vs-consensus comparisons are not provided in this recap. If desired, we can update this section once S&P Global estimates are accessible.
Key Takeaways for Investors
- Mix-led margin expansion and GES momentum underpin improving fundamentals; watch for CY2025 shipments from recent PEM contracts as a near-term revenue catalyst .
- Semi wafer fab demand recovery tied to AI/data centers appears durable; PMT backlog and customer signals support sequential growth into Q3 FY25 .
- Strategic Healthcare asset sale simplifies the model and enhances focus on higher ROI segments (GES/PMT), with cash and supply agreements mitigating transition risk .
- Inventory strategy enables shipping from stock, improving cash conversion; Thales tube inventory represents a multi-year monetization opportunity .
- Canvys remains exposed to European macro; backlog growth offers cushion but freight/mix may pressure margins near-term .
- Dividend maintained ($0.06), strong balance sheet (no debt, $26.6M cash at Q2; $36.7M by Q3) supports growth investments and shareholder returns .
- Near-term trading: catalysts include backlog conversion, locomotive shipments, and GES PEM deployments; medium-term thesis centers on engineered solutions scale in green energy and semi cap demand normalization .