Don't try to steal any thunder from this company (or anything, for that matter). It had one heck of a quarter, recovering quite a bit of green.
LoJack (NASDAQ:LOJN) reported excellent first-quarter results yesterday. Now, let's unlock some of the finer points. To begin with, net sales for the first quarter increased to $32.1 million versus $27.7 million a year ago. Net income went up a delirious 64% to $1.58 million versus $964,000 in 2003. Cash currently stands at approximately $6.3 million, a nice jump from the $4.7 million balance at the end of last year. Margins seem to be improving, and both domestic and international operations appear healthy.
Most everyone knows about LoJack. The company implements a system that authorities can use to activate a tracking device hidden away in an automobile in the event that it has been stolen. The recovery rate is a reported 90% or greater -- pretty good for such a solution, considering the difficult nature of the problem.
W.D. Crotty wrote about LoJack back in February, and he echoed a thought that shot through my synapses: Why hasn't the market bid the stock up to a higher price per share? Like Crotty, I myself noticed that the system operates in less than half of the U.S., and growth prospects for the international side appear very appealing.
But, as he puts it, it's more of a "slow and steady" grower as opposed to a true, fiery growth vehicle. Even so, I'd imagine the premium to the earnings would be higher than it stands now. Goes to show you that everyone has a different opinion on what the reality for any given company's prospects are at any given time.
To borrow an example from W.D.'s article (although, I am using it in a different context here), there are many out there who believe Taser (NASDAQ:TASR) is worth the parabolic rise afforded it. Perhaps it is, perhaps it isn't. At some point, it becomes a beauty contest, as Keynes once pointed out (LoJack seems to be a mighty strong contestant, though, as this past Take might indicate).
What these results tell me is that LoJack is a collective of marketing genius. It has a fruitfully symbiotic relationship with Motorola (NYSE:MOT), its supplier, and it knows how to get its products into many, many cars. Going forward, LoJack should not only continue to provide a safe return for hijacked vehicles, it will probably also provide a nice return for investors. It should be noted though, that it is a low-price/low-cap stock, so due diligence is your best defense against loss of capital.
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Fool contributor Steven Mallas owns none of the companies mentioned.
