II-VI Scores

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Yesterday, in "II-VI, Hike!," we gave you the pregame view of Motley Fool Hidden Gems pick II-VI's (Nasdaq: IIVI) Q4 news. Now that the whistle has blown, it's time for the postgame report.

II-VI shares posted a 7-percentage-point gain yesterday in the immediate aftermath of earnings. Today, the company's running up the score by another 13%, all in response to quarterly news that was nothing short of fabulous:

• Sales jumped 31%, outpacing their year-long run of 24% growth.
• Profits kept pace, hitting $0.49 per diluted share in the fiscal fourth quarter, and $2.11 for the year.
• And while those last two numbers may suggest slowing profits in the final quarter of the year, remember -- II-VI enjoyed an "after-tax gain on sale of equity investment of $0.52 per share" earlier in the year. Net that out, and profit growth accelerated as well, at 27% for the year.

Now, you might expect barn-burning growth like this to be short-lived. You'd be wrong. According to II-VI, not only was sales growth strong last year, but it also looks similarly strong for the year to come. Bookings of new orders grew 30% over the course of this fiscal year, and 31% in Q4 alone -- ahead of sales and on track with sales growth, respectively. Thus, we're looking at a pretty robust pipeline of new business in the new fiscal year.

Much of the growth showed up on the defense-contracting side of II-VI's business. As CEO Francis Kramer confirmed, II-VI's new Pacific Rare Specialty Metals & Chemicals acquisition helped to "more than double bookings and segment earnings" in the Military and Materials segment. (Sounds like customers Raytheon (NYSE: RTN), Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC),  Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) and General Dynamics (NYSE: GD) are investing big-time in lasers.)

Last but not least
The final bit of good news from II-VI, I'm afraid I can only guess at: Free cash flow. Judging from accounts receivable's 24% year-over-year rise, and the merely 20% increase in inventory (equal to and below full-year revenue growth, respectively), I can make an educated guess that free cash flowed freely at II-VI. However, management has not yet filed its 10-K with the SEC, and it appears that the company did not include a cash flow statement with its earnings release. I guess it would be nice if II-VI could provide a cash flow with its press release, to make it easier for investors to get the whole story.

Well, whaddya know? I guess there is still one thing II-VI can still improve on!

IV more on II-VI, read:

• II Steps IV-ward, I Step Back
• II(-VI) Legit to Quit
• Color to the Numbers: Top Contrarian Stocks