I don't get it. Hidden Gems recommendation Rofin-Sinar (NASDAQ:RSTI) has nearly $1 billion in market cap, it's in sight of a double in the past year, and it has a solid business. You'd think by now it would get a little more attention from the analyst community. Then again, having a squadron of barking seals chattering about a penny here or a 1% margin shortfall there is an aggravation that I'll bet most management teams could live without.
Either way, this looks like another solid financial performance from this laser company. Sales climbed about 5% as reported, and it sounds as though that growth rate would have been about double were it not for the impact of foreign currency. Sales of macro application lasers were down 1%, while micro and marking sales were up 11%.
Rofin-Sinar also did better in terms of profitability. Because of a more favorable product mix (including higher sales into the semiconductor and electronics markets), gross margins expanded by more than four percentage points. This wasn't entirely maintained at the operating line, but operating income nevertheless grew at a 29% clip.
From where I stand, this is still a stealth growth story. The company is doing more and more business in Asia (sales up 66% this quarter) and the upswing in the semiconductor/electronics business is certainly helping. And given what I've been seeing from semiconductor foundries like Taiwan Semiconductor (NYSE:TSM) and equipment companies like Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT), there's no reason to think that this isn't still a growth opportunity.
This is another stock that I'm kicking myself for not owning. I'm a big fan of mutual fund managers Royce & Associates, and yet I still managed not to follow them into ideas like Rofin-Sinar, Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO), and National Presto (NYSE:NPK). Oh well, live and learn. In the meantime, though, I wouldn't be in a big hurry to get out of Rofin-Sinar stock -- it's not overvalued and the growth prospects here look bright indeed.
For more related Foolishness:
- Rofin-Sinar's Laser Light Show
- Is Taiwan Semiconductor Hiding in Plain Sight?
- Lincoln Electric Burns Through Another Quarter
Fool contributor Stephen Simpson has no financial interest in any stocks mentioned (that means he's neither long nor short the shares).
