Orbit International shares climb 6% after earnings release

Shares of Orbit International Corp. climbed 6 percent Thursday after the maker of customized electronic components posted sharply higher third-quarter net income, reflecting a deferred tax benefit and improved gross margins.

Net income for the Hauppauge company rose to $699,000, or 19 cents per diluted share, which included a deferred tax benefit worth $250,000, or 7 cents per share. That compared to net income of $455,000, or 11 cents per diluted share, in the 2016 quarter.

Net sales, meanwhile, fell 8.8 percent to $5 million from $5.5 million in the previous year’s period.

In an earnings release before the open of trading Thursday, Orbit president and chief executive Mitchell Binder said “technical issues” delayed product shipments worth more than $1.1 million, but that those issues have been resolved and the company expects higher revenues in the fourth quarter.

Binder said cost containment and sales of higher margin products resulted in an improvement in gross margins to 41.5 percent versus 36.6 percent in the 2016 quarter.

Orbit shares climbed 30 cents to close Thursday at $5.30. The stock has risen about 43 percent in the past 12 months.

By Ken Schachter

kenneth.schachter@newsday.comkschach

Ken Schachter covers corporate news, including technology and aerospace, and other business topics for Newsday. He has also worked at The Miami Herald and The Jerusalem Post.