AeroVironment Soaring On Earnings Beat

AeroVironment, Inc. AVAV shares are soaring in after-hours on an earnings beat, and it updated guidance for fiscal 2012 that was better than Wall Street was expecting. The company reported quarterly earnings of 79 cents per share on $106.1 million in revenues. Wall Street had been expecting earnings of 69 cents per share on $99.16 million. For fiscal year 2012, Aerovironment said it sees full year earnings of $1.28-$1.35 per share. It expects revenues to come in at $321 million to $336 million. These estimates are far higher than where Wall Street is expecting. Wall Street is expecting earnings of $1.23 per share on $314.8 million in revenues. “With record fourth quarter revenue of $106.1 million, fiscal 2011 revenue grew 17% to $292.5 million, exceeding our guidance, and diluted earnings per share increased 24% to $1.17," said Tim Conver, AeroVironment chairman and chief executive officer. “Electric vehicle charging solutions and digital Puma unmanned aircraft systems successfully transitioned from development to production programs with attractive long-term growth prospects, while other innovative developments progressed toward customer adoption. The effective performance of our team, the successful transition of great ideas to meaningful market adoption with first mover advantage and the strong demand for our solutions continue to position us well for long-term growth." At last check, shares were up in after hours, gaining $2.87 to $31.48‎, a gain of 10.03%‎.