What happened
CalAmp's (CAMP -2.23%) share price has jumped 31% so far this year, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence, thanks to the company proving over the past two quarters that it can grow its core business.
So what
CalAmp delivered a strong fiscal fourth-quarter in mid-April, with revenue increasing 22% year over year. Investors boosted the company's share price by about 14% following the news.
Image source: CalAmp.
Then, at the end of June, CalAmp's fiscal first-quarter 2018 results came in at the high end of the company's guidance, though there were some losses. Revenues declined by 3% year over year to $88.1 million and adjusted earnings per share came in at $0.29, down from $0.30 in the year-ago quarter, but management had forecast revenue between $84 million and $90 million and adjusted EPS of $0.24 to $0.32, so beating the midpoint of those ranges apparently helped push the company's share price to a 52-week high.
Now what
CalAmp is expecting more growth in the coming quarters, particularly from its mobile resource management (MRM) business, which uses technology to track industrial equipment and collect data.
CalAmp CFO Richard Vitelle said on the fiscal first-quarter 2018 earnings call that, "Looking further ahead to fiscal 2018, we expect our business to strengthen as the year progresses, driven by broad-based growth centered around our core MRM telematics business," and that the company expects MRM to hit record levels in the second quarter.
Overall, CalAmp is continuing to make the right moves with its business, especially with its purchase of LoJack last year, which has boosted the company's long-term telematics position. That's helped to boost investor sentiment in the short term and should help the company build out a strong business into the future as well.
