Shares of Astronics Corp. (ATRO), a manufacturer of power generation and lighting systems for the aerospace industry, are soaring nearly 40% higher today after announcing second quarter financial results that took Wall Street by surprise. Sales for the quarter reached a record $47.9 million, a 15.8% increase year-over-year and well above analysts’ consensus estimate of $42.1 million. Net income was $5.1 million, or 60 cents per share, compared to $4.5 million or 53 cents per share for the same period last year. Analysts had projected earnings of 31 cents per share.

Astronics cited strong sales to the military and business jet sectors for the solid quarterly performance, and raised its full-year revenue guidance. Orders during the second quarter rose 35.3% over a year ago to $52.4 million, while backlog rose to a record $101.6 million from $94.3 million last quarter. Peter J. Gundermann, President and Chief Executive Officer of Astronics, commented, “While we set an all-time record for shipments in the quarter, the level of orders received was even stronger, allowing us to raise our revenue forecast for the year to $175 to $185 million. Despite well publicized macro-economic challenges, demand for our products has remained very strong.”

Shares of ATRO are trading 40% higher intraday at $20.49 on eight times normal daily trading volume. With 8.5 million shares outstanding, ATRO has a market cap of approximately $175 million. Shares have traded in a wide 52-week range of $12.30 – $54.20, partly due to its relatively small float of 7 million shares.

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