By Jorge Mercado Tuesday, March 9th, 2021

AeroVironment, a drone company based in Simi Valley, saw a steep rise in revenue and a slight increase in net income when the company released its quarterly results on March 9.

AeroVironment generated revenue of $78.8 million in the third quarter of its 2020-21 fiscal year, a 27% increase from the same quarter one year ago.

In a company news release, AeroVironment said the increase in revenue was due to growth in product sales of $21.9 million over the course of a year, partially offset by a decrease in service revenue of $5 million.

Despite a big rise in product sales, AeroVironment saw net income of just $258,000 in the third quarter, still better than in third quarter of 2019, when the company had a net loss of $1 million. Earnings per share for the quarter were 1 cent, compared to a loss of 4 cents per share in the same quarter a year before.

AeroVironment is awaiting the close of three acquisitions the company has announced over the last three months: Telerob, Arcturus UAV, and Intelligent Systems Group from Progeny Systems Corp.

“We’re confident with these acquisitions, we will significantly strengthen our company and extend AeroVironment’s track record of operational and financial success,” President and CEO Wahid Nawabi said during the company’s earnings call. “These are three exciting transactions that expand our business, our team and our ability to drive shareholder value over the near and long term.”

AeroVironment released its financial results after the trading day closed on March 9, with shares at $106.37. Shares were down less than 1% after hours.

Along with a rise in revenue, AeroVironment also saw a rise in gross margin for the third quarter of 2021, up 22% from $23.5 million in the third quarter of 2020 to $28.6 million in 2021.

The COVID-19 pandemic is still affecting business as well, as Nawabi said the company is experiencing delays in limited areas of its supply chains.

“While we are experiencing limitations and our ability to travel during the COVID-19 pandemic, which delayed some customer orders, we’re confident in our ability to continue delivering strong results,” Nawabi said.