Aerovironment Inc (AVAV) SEC Filing 10-K Annual report for the fiscal year ending Thursday, April 30, 2015

Exhibit 99.1

AeroVironment, Inc. Announces Fiscal 2015 Fourth Quarter and Full Year Results

MONROVIA, Calif., June 30, 2015

“Fourth quarter revenue of $86 million increased by 18 percent and gross profit increased by 50 percent year-over-year.  During the quarter, we strengthened our market positions, moved key programs forward to generate value, and focused on innovation,” said Tim Conver, AeroVironment chairman and chief executive officer. “Throughout fiscal year 2015, our strategic investments helped expand our growth portfolio and position AeroVironment for new market opportunities.  In our core business, our team delivered revenue in-line with our expectations and exceeded targeted profitability.

“We continue to deliver certainty and reliability to our customers and remain the leader in electric vehicle testing and charging systems and small unmanned aircraft systems, where we operate with the largest installed base in the global defense industry.  We are entering fiscal year 2016 with strong momentum and look forward to driving the business forward and enhancing stockholder value.”

FISCAL 2015 FOURTH QUARTER RESULTS

Revenue for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015 was $86.5 million, up 18% from fourth quarter fiscal 2014 revenue of $73.5 million. The increase in revenue resulted from increased sales in our Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) segment of $18.7 million offset by a decrease in sales in our Efficient Energy Systems (EES) segment of $5.7 million.

Gross margin for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015 was $45.4 million, up 50% from fourth quarter fiscal 2014 gross margin of $30.1 million. The increase in gross margin was due to an increase in product margin of $9.7 million and service margin of $5.5 million. As a percentage of revenue, gross margin increased to 52% from 41%.

Income from operations for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015 was $7.5 million compared to income from operations for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014 of $6.9 million. The increase in income from operations was a result of an increase in gross margin of $15.2 million and a decrease in selling, general & administrative (SG&A) expense of $1.3 million, offset by an increase in research and development (R&D) of $16.0 million.

Other expense, net, for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015 was $0.5 million compared to other income, net, for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014 of $2.9 million.  The decrease was primarily due to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014 including a $2.8 million increase in fair value of the embedded conversion feature of our convertible bond investment.   During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015, we did not have any convertible bond investments.

Net income for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015 was $7.1 million compared to net income for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014 of $8.1 million.

Earnings per diluted share for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015 were $0.31 compared to earnings per diluted share for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014 of $0.35.  Earnings per diluted share for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015 included a loss of $0.01 per share due to losses on our equity investment. Earnings per diluted share for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014 included an increase of $0.08 per share due to the increase in fair value of the conversion option of our convertible bond investment.

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