Forward Earnings Surge

Forward Industries (FORD) surged Monday after the maker of cell-phone carrying cases posted strong third-quarter numbers.

For the quarter ended June 30, the Pompano Beach, Fla., company earned $2.6 million, or 33 cents a share, up from the year-ago $346,199, or a nickel a share. Sales surged 150% from a year earlier to $13.1 million.

Forward shares continued their strong recent run. The stock, which traded for as little as $1.90 a year ago, jumped $4.35 in hefty volume to $24.34.

"We are especially pleased with the strength of our OEM cell-phone product sales, which continue a trend of sharp, sequential revenue increases established in the first quarter of our 2005 fiscal year to levels that are well above historical norms," said CEO Jerome Ball. "Based on current confirmed and anticipated orders for existing 'in-box' programs, we expect this trend of increasing revenue to continue into our fourth fiscal quarter. Whether this trend continues beyond that period depends on the timing of the decline of the product cycle for these three programs as well as on the strength of new in-box business that replaces them, which is difficult to assess at this time."

The company said the revenue gains are being driven by two deals with Motorola (MOT) and one with Nokia (NOK). The company said those programs accounted for 61% of sales for the latest quarter, with one program alone accounting for 47% of revenue.

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