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TWST: What is EDO Corporation?
Mr. Smith: Today, EDO Corporation is a lot different than it was just
six years ago. EDO has been around for more than 80 years; as a matter
of fact, last October, we celebrated our 80th anniversary ' we started
in 1925. But six years ago, EDO merged with a private company called AIL
Systems, which doubled the size of the company to about $200 million in
revenue. At that time, we put in place an aggressive plan to grow
organically and through acquisitions. The desire was to reach a point
where we could be a strong second-tier supplier to the prime contractors
and to the United States government ' in other words, to be a major
subsystems supplier and a major integration supplier across a very broad
marketplace. AIL brought to EDO a lot of expertise in microwave
technology and electronic warfare. EDO was already strong in aircraft
weapon-release systems and also in international markets with sonar and
sea-based mine countermeasures. Today, we span a far broader
marketplace. We're providing sophisticated intelligence, reconnaissance,
surveillance, radar systems, and self-protect electronics. With our
recent acquisitions, we have expanded our professional services group to
roughly 30% of the total revenue of the company on a going-forward
basis. The idea is to be a tip to tail supplier, and to do that we must
have a full range of capabilities. But also, we must be recognized as
having the size and the viability to take on significant contracts and
see them through to the end. Therefore, we need a growing, sustainable
revenue base. We believe we've established that. We set a goal in 2000
to grow to revenue of $500 million by 2005, and we reached that
milestone in 2004. We now have set a new public goal that in the next
few years, we will get to $1.5 billion and I think that we are well on
our way today. Nobody can guarantee the future, but I see no impediment
to reaching our goals.
Tickers included in this excerpt: EDO
For more information call (212) 952 7433. The
Wall Street Transcript does not endorse any of the comments made by interviewees, and does
not make stock recommendations.
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