Optical Cable Corporation (OCC) research, news, and more from GeoInvesting

Company description

Sat, 17 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

Optical Cable Corporation is a leading manufacturer of fiber optic cables primarily sold into the enterprise market, and the premier manufacturer of military ground tactical fiber optic cables for the U.S. military. Founded in 1983, Optical Cable Corporation pioneered the design and production of fiber optic cables for the most demanding military field applications, as well as fiber optic cables suitable for both indoor and outdoor use. The Company's current broad product offering is built on the evolution of these fundamental technologies, and is designed to provide end-users with fiber optic cables that are easy and economical to install, provide a high degree of reliability and offer outstanding performance characteristics. Optical Cable Corporation sells its products worldwide for uses ranging from commercial and campus installations to customized products for specialty applications and harsh environments, including military applications. The Company manufactures its high quality fiber optic cables at its ISO 9001:2000 registered and MIL-STD- 790F certified facility located in Roanoke, Virginia.

Research

Tue, 10 Mar 2026 21:32:39 GMT

Adding OCC To Our Data Center Screen

Optical Cable Corporation (NASDAQ:OCC) ($6.11; $54.2M market cap) announced Q1 2026 results:

Q1 sales of $16.4 million vs. $15.7 million in the prior year
Q1 2026 EPS: loss of $(0.05) vs. loss of $(0.14) in the prior year
Gross profit increased 16.1% to $5.4 million from $4.6 million, and gross margin rose to 32.7% from 29.4%.
Sales order backlog and forward load increased to $10.4 million from $7.3 million at October 31, 2025.
Net sales to customers outside the United States increased 18.0%, while domestic net sales increased less than one percent.

Management Commentary:

"OCC is off to a solid start in fiscal year 2026. During the first quarter, we delivered net sales and gross profit growth, largely driven by increased demand across our enterprise and specialty markets, and the positive impact of our operating leverage."

"As we begin our second quarter, we are seeing growing momentum in our targeted markets, including our data center market. Our sales order backlog and forward load increased more than 50% to $10.4 million compared to the same prior fiscal year period, and we expect to continue to build on this momentum. We are confident that OCC is well positioned for growth during fiscal year 2026 and, as always, we remain focused on disciplined execution to drive value for our customers and shareholders," Mr. Wilkin added.

Our Quick Take:

As usual, the company continues to post losses. However, it’s nice to finally see the backlog getting to $10.4M, the highest level since Q1 2023, and management mentions its data center focus in the press release.

We only think OCC is worth mentioning for its data center opportunity.

In July 2025, the company entered into a collaboration with Lightera to expand presence in data center and enterprise passive optical LAN sectors. You can see our summary of the collaboration here.

Optical Cable Corporation manufactures and sells fiber optic and copper cabling and connectivity solutions for data, voice, and video communications, serving enterprise, data center, military, and specialty applications.

Research

Tue, 27 Jan 2026 20:59:40 GMT

OCC Possilbe InfoArb

On July 7, 2025, OCC received an investment from Lightera. That day, OCC and Lightera announced a strategic collaboration in which Lightera purchased shares of OCC common stock, resulting in Lightera holding approximately 7.24 % of OCC’s outstanding shares as part of the agreement.

OCC and Lightera entered into a Joint Collaboration Agreement aimed at expanding product offerings and solutions, especially in the data center and enterprise markets.

The companies planned to combine portions of both product portfolios to deliver integrated cabling and connectivity solutions.
Certain Lightera products would be offered and sold by OCC as part of this expanded solution set.

Four days ago, OCC posted this on LinkedIn. OCC and Lightera attending BICSI Winter 2026 shows they are actively promoting the collaboration to customers and integrators. This event is a major conference for network infrastructure professionals so it could result in leads and contracts, as well as continuing to demonstrate that the partnership is moving along smoothly.

Research

Mon, 08 Dec 2025 05:00:00 GMT

Optical Cable Corporation (NASDAQ:OCC) ($8.40; $71.4M market cap) - In July 2025 OCC announced a strategic collaboration with Lightera. See our original note here.

Key highlights:

OCC and Lightera entered into a strategic collaboration agreement to deliver integrated fiber optic and copper cabling solutions, especially targeting the data center and enterprise sectors.
Lightera made an equity investment in OCC and now holds 7.24% of OCC’s outstanding shares.

We noticed an article on LinkedIn that Lightera opened its new optical plant in Mexico to meet growing demand from the telecommunication and data center sectors. Shares are off recent highs of $11.50 the stock reached in mid October, however it is still significantly overvalued based on trailing numbers and inability to report consistent profitability. Still, there are a few things worth noting:

The company has a significant amount of operating leverage within its model, in that it could probably increase revenue by 50% without seeing a material increase in cost of goods sold (COGS). With that being said, we don't fully understand how operating expenses will move with revenue increases. Regardless, EPS could quickly accelerate to large numbers if revenues do increase.
We don't think the Lightera LinkedIn post has gotten any play on social media as it relates to OC

Research

Thu, 11 Sep 2025 14:23:17 GMT

Optical Cable Corporation (NASDAQ:OCC) ($6.28; $51.7M market cap) announced Q3 2025 results:

Q3 sales of $19.9 million vs. $16.2 million in the prior year
Q3 2025 EPS: $0.04 vs. loss of ($0.20) in the prior year
Strategic collaboration with Lightera to expand offerings across enterprise, data center, and other markets
Lightera invested in OCC, acquiring 7.24% of outstanding shares
Q3 backlog at $7.1M, slightly down from $7.2M in Q2 but up YoY from $5.7M

"This was a strong quarter for OCC. OCC delivered significant net sales growth and gross profit expansion during both the third quarter and first nine months of this fiscal year—capturing additional opportunities as demand for our products increased in many of our markets. We also continued to see the benefits of OCC's significant operating leverage during the third quarter, as our 22.8% year-over-year increase in net sales drove gross profit growth of 61.2%. The OCC team is executing well against our long-term growth strategy. Further, we anticipate our strategic collaboration with Lightera will provide additional growth opportunities for OCC. Looking ahead, we are confident that OCC continues to be well positioned in our markets to capture growth opportunities through the fiscal year and beyond as we remain focused on creating shareholder value." — Neil Wilkin, President and CEO

Our Quick Take:

We need to understand the Lightera partnership better and each company’s responsibility,on the marketing, distribution and product development side of things.

Research

Sun, 13 Jul 2025 04:00:00 GMT

Optical Cable Corporation (NASDAQ:OCC) - On July 8, 2025 OCC announced a strategic collaboration agreement with Lightera, LLC, you can see our full summaryhere. One of the key takeaways was that Lighera took a 7.2% stake in OCC. However, the press release provided no details on how that was structured.

On July 10, 2025 OCC filed an8K with details on the material agreement.

“the Company agreed to sell 642,199 shares of its common stock to the Investor for an aggregate purchase price of $2 million dollars.” ($3.11 average price)

Research

Tue, 08 Jul 2025 18:03:50 GMT

Optical Cable Corporation (NASDAQ:OCC) ($3.62; $29.8M market cap) announced a strategic collaboration agreement with Lightera, LLC:

"We recognize the importance of this strategic joint effort with OCC and the potential opportunities it brings to expand Lightera's presence in the data center and enterprise Passive Optical LAN sectors," said Foad Shaikhzadeh, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Lightera. "Lightera is delivering a comprehensive, next-generation solution purpose-built for the modern data center—combining advanced edge technology, scalability, and performance. Our long-standing relationship with OCC, grounded in mutual respect and proven product excellence, positions us to jointly serve the growing demands of this critical customer segment. We are confident that OCC's established presence and reputation in key sectors will amplify the impact of our solution, and we look forward to building on this partnership."

Neil Wilkin, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of OCC, said, "We are excited about the opportunities this strategic relationship provides to both companies. OCC has successfully worked with Lightera (and its predecessor OFS Fitel, LLC), for decades, and we look forward to the expansion of our valued business partnership, as well as our continued engagement with the Lightera team. Importantly, we are confident that our strategic collaboration with Lightera, and the resulting Lightera-OCC integrated solutions offered, will significantly expand our opportunities in the data center and enterprise sectors, will accelerate OCC sales growth, and will create significant value for OCC and its shareholders."

Key highlights:

OCC and Lightera entered into a strategic collaboration agreement to deliver integrated fiber optic and copper cabling solutions, especially targeting the data center and enterprise sectors.
Lightera made an equity investment in OCC and now holds 7.24% of OCC’s outstanding shares.

Key Takeaway:

When we added the stock to our Buy on Pullback Model Portfolio #13, we stated we were monitoring to see if management sees growing demand in data center opportunities. It’s fair to say management had downplayed the data center angle over the last few months. However, this new collaboration now significantly expands the opportunity in the data center and enterprise sectors.
Investors may initially downplay that Lightera already has worked with OCC as a “partner,” not realizing the significance of Lightera taking a 7.24% stake in OCC. This is very interesting. OCC is also responsible for doing the sales and marketing. So, we don’t think it’s out of question that, if OCC is successful, that we could start considering it to be an acquisition target
The stock traded as high as $6.95 in yesterday’s after hours trading. Now it’s pulled back into the low to mid $4s, as worn out legacy investors are probably selling the stock or as other investors are downplaying the partnership. We would see the pullback as an opportunity to take a speculative wait and position.

Research

Thu, 05 Jun 2025 18:25:52 GMT

Optical Cable Corporation (NASDAQ:OCC) ($3.16; $25.9M market cap) announced Q2 2025 results:

Q2 sales of $17.5 million vs. $16.1 million in the prior year
Q2 EPS of $(0.09) vs. $(0.21) in the prior year
International sales increased 27.1% YoY; domestic sales rose 4.6%
Backlog/forward load grew to $7.2 million vs. $6.6 million in Q1
SG&A expenses increased to $5.7 million from $5.3 million YoY

"During the second quarter, the OCC team delivered net sales growth and gross profit growth—on both a year-over-year and a sequential basis. Strong execution by the OCC team coupled with our significant operating leverage also enabled us to deliver improved gross profit margins as we realized improved manufacturing efficiencies over higher production volumes. More broadly, we continue to see positive industry trends from which we believe OCC will continue to benefit as the year progresses. As we look ahead to the second half of the year, we remain focused on disciplined execution and capitalizing on opportunities to drive shareholder value." — Neil Wilkin, President and Chief Executive Officer"

Research

Mon, 10 Mar 2025 04:00:00 GMT

Optical Cable Corporation (Nasdaq:OCC) ($3.94; $32.3M market cap) announced Q1 2025 results:

Sales of $15.7 million vs $14.9 million in the prior year
Net loss of $0.14 vs net loss of $0.18

"I'm proud of the OCC team, which delivered a strong start to fiscal year 2025 in a dynamic market environment. During our first fiscal quarter, we achieved growth across key metrics including net sales and gross profit. We have strong momentum in our enterprise and specialty markets, including the military sector. Our focus on executing our growth strategies and operating efficiently will drive results this year, including gross profit margin expansion with increased volume. Looking ahead, OCC's backlog is growing, and we are poised to capitalize on growth opportunities and drive long-term value for our customers and shareholders."

OCC is one of the eight stocks added in our newly launched Buy on Pullback (BOP) Model Portfolio #13. The quarter’s results are probably weaker than the market expected, especially since the year-end release suggested the possibility of sequentially higher performance. Seasonal trends also play a role, as the second half of the year is typically stronger. We are joining the conference call to assess whether management sees growing momentum in data center opportunities.

We will have more to say about OCC in a video we are preparing on BOP #13, which includes a mix of shorter to medium term scenarios, and a heavier dose of speculative plays. After some really good back-to-back BOP performances in portfolios 11 and 12, we want to see we can juice the returns of 13 by getting exposure to a tiny bit more speculative plays

Research

Tue, 24 Dec 2024 05:00:00 GMT

Optical Cable Corporation (NASDAQ:OCC) ($3.32; $27.3M market cap) yesterday pre market the company announced Q4 2024 results:

Q4 2024 Revenue: $19.5 million vs $17.3 million in Q4 2023
Q4 Earnings Per Share (EPS): $0.05 vs a loss of $0.17 in Q4 2023

“OCC delivered a strong fourth quarter to finish the fiscal year. Through solid execution of our growth strategies in a challenging market environment, we reported sequential and year-over-year increases in net sales in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2024. We also achieved growth by all other measures during the fourth quarter—including gross profit and gross profit margin, as well as achieving positive income from operations and earnings per share—demonstrating the impact of OCC's significant operating leverage on profitability as net sales and production volumes increase...

...We are encouraged about our Company's prospects in fiscal year 2025, as we are seeing indications that our industry has begun to emerge from a prolonged period of market weakness. Looking ahead, we are confident OCC is well-positioned in our targeted markets to identify and capture further growth opportunities and create value for shareholders."

We also encourage you to read the “Letter to Shareholders” in the annual filing where the company goes into more details on its operating leverage and strength seen for 2025.

Shares more than doubled yesterday before retracing most of their gains, likely on data center hype and the stock's low float capital structure. The company has a subsidiary, Centric Solutions LLC which provides cabling and connectivity solutions for the data center market. (This is not new for them, as the company had this subsidiary in prior years)

OCC is a leading manufacturer of a comprehensive range of top-tier fiber optic and copper communication cabling and connectivity products and solutions.

Research

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 12:43:12 GMT

Optical Cable Corporation (NASDAQ:OCC), a leading manufacturer of a comprehensive range of top-tier fiber optic and copper communication cabling and connectivity products and solutions, announced Q2 2023 results:

Sales of $19.6 million vs $17.2 million in the prior year
Non GAAP EPS of $0.10 vs a loss of $0.03 in the prior year

“The OCC team continued to build on our positive momentum and successfully executed our strategy during the second quarter and first half of fiscal year 2023, delivering strong financial and operational performance. We are pleased to have achieved significant growth by all measures—net sales, gross profit and gross profit margin, as well as income from operations and earnings per share, compared to the same periods in the prior year. Looking ahead, we plan to continue executing our strategic initiatives to drive growth, work efficiently and safely, and drive enhanced shareholder value."

For more color on the recent resurgence in the company's sales growth and profitability, you can review our Weekly Wrap Up titled, When Operating Leverage Is Considered A Multibagger Catalyst.

Research

Mon, 13 Mar 2023 14:29:15 GMT

Optical Cable Corporation (NASDAQ:OCC) ($4.35 $34.4M market cap), a leading manufacturer of a comprehensive range of top-tier fiber optic and copper communication cabling and connectivity products and solutions, announced Q1 2023 results:

Sales of $18.3 million vs $14.4 million in the prior year
EPS of $0.10 vs a loss of $0.12 in the prior year

“We are pleased to report a strong start to fiscal year 2023, as the OCC team continues to build on our momentum and successfully execute our growth strategies. During the first quarter of fiscal year 2023, we achieved significant growth in net sales, gross profit, gross profit margin, and bottom line results, while our sales order backlog/forward load continued to be higher than typical levels. Our results reflect our success executing our growth strategies and operating efficiently. They also demonstrate the strong demand for our products across our markets and the strength of our operating leverage. We remain well-positioned in our target markets, and are confident in OCC's ability to drive further shareholder value creation."

This marks back to back strong year over year results for OCC. However, the results are sequentially down from Q4 and the company has a history of reporting lumpy sales and EPS. So, consistency has been the major issue here.

We are awaiting the 10-Q filing for more details on the backlog and comments from management.

OCC was a company we highlighted in a Weekly Wrap Up of ours on December 26, 2022, where we did mention this inconsistency, but wanted to point out that there were some favorable trends with respect to its operating leverage, as well as some Tier One Microcap qualities. In the post, we explain why operating leverage may be an important indicator of a company’s future performance.

Research

Fri, 23 Dec 2022 05:00:00 GMT

Optical Cable Corporation (NASDAQ:OCC) ($4.18; $32.9M market cap), a leading manufacturer of a comprehensive range of top-tier fiber optic and copper communication cabling and connectivity products and solution, announced Q4 2022 results:

Sales of $20.1 million vs $15.9 million in the prior year
EPS of $0.15 vs $0.00 in the prior year

"Our results this year reflect market conditions shaped by supply chain and labor constraints, as well as inflation. Through it all, we executed on our growth strategies, took steps to operate even more efficiently and were able to achieve strong sales growth across our markets. We benefited from our operating leverage and we improved gross profits—particularly in our fourth quarter. Demand for our products continues to be strong and we are poised to build on our momentum."

Mr. Wilkin continued, "Looking ahead to fiscal year 2023, we are encouraged by our sales order backlog/forward load and optimistic about the opportunities ahead for OCC. We continue to be laser focused on executing our strategy to meet demand and capture additional growth opportunities. With our differentiated core strengths and capabilities, as well as our enviable market positions, we remain confident that OCC is well-positioned to capture opportunities and deliver value to shareholders."

We have looked at OCC several times in our past. The company has a history of lumpy sales and EPS, but at any rate will keep an eye out for more consistency should the company be able to similarly perform moving forward.

–

Research

Tue, 11 Sep 2018 14:46:17 GMT

Optical Cable Corporation (NASDAQ:OCC) ($4.15; $31.9M market cap), a leading manufacturer of a comprehensive range of top-tier fiber optic and copper communication cabling and connectivity products and solution announced Q3 2018 results:

Sales of $23.1 million vs $16.4 million in the prior year
EPS of $0.06 vs a loss of $0.05 in the prior year

Neil Wilkin, President and Chief Executive Officer of OCC, said, "Our positive third quarter results reflect the continued momentum of our growth strategies and again demonstrate OCC's strong operating leverage at higher sales levels. Our sales order backlog/forward load at the end of the third quarter was $8.6 million, which we believe will contribute to a strong finish to the fiscal year."

Mr. Wilkin concluded, "We continue our strategic focus on sales and marketing efforts in targeted markets and improving operational efficiency. We believe our performance and shareholder value will be positively impacted by these efforts."

Q3 results were sequentially down from Q2, which clarifies our initial concern as to whether or not their Q2 momentum could continue. Management communicated in its Q2 release that the quarter had some positive impacts from large orders being filled. However, the company’s backlog continues to decline and the company has a history of temporary growth spurts, which could be the case once again.

Research

Wed, 01 Aug 2018 15:32:41 GMT

Rf Industries Inc. ($9.95, $91M market cap) and Optical Cables Corp. ($3.80, $29.2M market cap) - We are watching both RFIL and OCC very closely due the recent earnings report from Encore Wire Corp (NASDAQ:WIRE). WIRE also had bullish commentary in its release that can likely be applied to the entire industry:

"The U.S. economy appears strong, as is construction activity. Based on discussions with our distributor customers and their contractor customers, we believe there is a good outlook for construction projects for the next year. We believe our superior order fill rates continue to enhance our competitive position. As orders come in from electrical contractors, the distributors can count on our order fill rates to ensure quick deliveries from coast to coast."

We believe that, based on their most recent press releases, that RFIL and OCC could have good reports for Q2. While we assess if the momentum that these two companies are experiencing will last more than a couple of quarters, we are getting the initial impression that there may be a longer-term positive tailwinds at hand. RF Industries, Ltd. is engaged in the design, manufacture and marketing of interconnect products and systems. Optical Cable Corporation is a manufacturer of a range of fiber optic and copper data communication cabling and connectivity solutions primarily for the enterprise market

Research

Mon, 11 Jun 2018 14:52:21 GMT

Optical Cable Corporation (NASDAQ:OCC) ($3.00; marked up 25% pre market; $22.9M market cap), a leading manufacturer of a comprehensive range of top-tier fiber optic and copper communication cabling and connectivity products and solutions announced Q2 2018 results:

Sales of $26.9 million vs $15.8 million in the prior year
EPS of $0.18 vs loss of $0.04 in the prior year

Quotes from management:

OCC's increase in net sales during the second quarter and the first half of fiscal year 2018 were driven by significant orders from a large customer. The Company continues to fulfill these orders, which will likely have a positive impact on net sales in the third quarter of fiscal 2018 compared to the same period last year. However, based on current backlog/forward load, the Company anticipates that net sales during the third quarter will be less than net sales during the second quarter of 2018.

"Our strategic focus is on sales and marketing initiatives in targeted markets to drive sales, as well as increasing operational efficiency. We are optimistic that our success in both of these areas will positively impact our bottom line and enable us to deliver enhanced shareholder value."

Research

Tue, 20 Dec 2016 15:59:03 GMT

OCC ($2.80; marked up 10% pre market) reported Q4 2016 results:

Sales of $17.3 million vs $16.8 million in the prior year
Non-GAAP EPS of $0.10 vs a loss of $0.09 in the prior year

OCC manufactures a broad range of fiber optic and copper data communication cabling and connectivity solutions primarily for the enterprise market and various harsh environment and specialty markets. Over the past several years, the company has been struggling to grow revenue and maintain profitability in a competitive market that includes formidable players.

“The fiber optic and copper data communications cables and connectivity enterprise markets and other short- to moderate-distance markets are highly competitive. Our fiber optic cable product lines compete with products of large fiber optic cable manufacturers such as Corning Incorporated, General Cable Corp, Belden Inc., Nexans S.A. (including Berk-Tek), CommScope Holding Company, Inc., OFS, AFL (a subsidiary of Fujikura), and others, some of which manufacture optical fiber. Our copper cable product lines compete with products of large copper cable manufacturers such as General Cable Corp., Belden Inc., Nexans S.A. (including Berk-Tek), CommScope Holding Company, Inc. and others. Our fiber optic and copper connectivity product lines compete with products of large fiber optic and copper connectivity manufacturers such as CommScope Holding Company, Inc., Corning Incorporated, Leviton, Legrand S.A. (including Ortronics), Panduit and others. Our harsh environment and specialty connectivity product lines compete with products of Amphenol Corporation (including AFSI), Delphi and others.” 2015 10K

In 2016 management introduced new products, reduced expenses and readdressed its sales and marketing efforts. These efforts have resulted in two consecutive profitable quarters. Although sales growth/levels are still not impressive. We may look to construct an RFT( Reasons For Tracking) on the company. As we wait for the CEO’s 2016 letter to shareholders, you can read last year’s CEO letter to shareholdershere to get a glimpse of the goals management had set for 2016. It is still unclear if the company has turned the corner to consistent profitability. Management mentions that seasonality impacts its business.

Q4 2016 Comments from management:

Neil Wilkin, President and Chief Executive Officer of OCC, said, "Over the course of the fiscal year, we demonstrated our ability to adjust course in a challenging market environment to position OCC for success. We focused on two categories of initiatives this year — cost reductions and sales, marketing and product initiatives. As a result of our initiatives and the positive impact of seasonality, we achieved success in both of these areas, with a $3.3 million reduction in SG&A expense this year and sequential quarterly improvements in net sales, gross profit, gross profit margin and profitability since the first quarter.”

Mr. Wilkin continued, "We believe the actions we have taken throughout fiscal 2016 in response to these challenges have better positioned OCC for the future. While we expect our typical seasonality pattern to recur in fiscal 2017, we intend to drive top-line growth by continuing our sales, marketing and product initiatives designed to provide customers and end users with innovative and integrated product offerings and solutions. We believe that we have built a strong foundation at OCC and are confident in our ability to deliver value for shareholders and capitalize on the opportunities before us in 2017 and beyond."

We will be on the conference call later this morning and possibly look to set up an interview with management.

Shareholder Letters

Tue, 20 Dec 2016 14:16:54 GMT

Dear Shareholders of Optical Cable Corporation:

Navigating Through a Difficult Environment.

Optical Cable Corporation (OCC®) demonstrated strong operational and financial performance in the enterprise market in fiscal year 2015: our consolidated net sales in this market increased by more than 9% to $38.0 million1, as we continued to execute on key initiatives that we believe will support future growth. Our development of new and updated product families for the enterprise market over the last two years—particularly our enterprise connectivity products—contributed to our increase in sales in this market.

Despite our strength in the enterprise market, our financial results were impacted by weakness in certain harsh environment and specialty markets, including the mining, oil & gas, and military markets, as well as by volatility in the wireless carrier market. The strong U.S. dollar also impacted our sales outside of the U.S.

Unusually slow sales activity in the United States toward the end of calendar year 2015 was suprising, and impacted OCC’s fourth quarter. While weakness in the U.S. will impact OCC’s sales in our first quarter of fiscal 2016, we are optimistic about the remainder of the year.

Importantly, the OCC team is nimble and able to adjust to market challenges, and we will continue to take the actions necessary to ensure OCC’s success. We are confident that we have built a solid foundation that will support continued growth and shareholder value creation in 2016 and beyond.

Financial Overview and Key Financial Performance Metrics.

OCC’s key financial performance metrics for fiscal year 2015 included:

Consolidated net sales of $73.6 million, a decrease of $9.4 million or 11.3% compared to net sales of $83.0 million for fiscal year 2014. A single customer in the wireless carrier market accounted for $6.0 million of the total decrease, as certain wireless carriers slowed their purchases—particularly toward the end of the year.
Gross profit of $21.8 million, compared to $28.5 million for fiscal year 2014. Gross profit was impacted by lower net sales in certain specialty markets that tend to have higher gross profit margins—including the military, oil & gas, and mining markets. The wireless carrier market also impacted OCC’s gross profit, due to pricing pressures and higher volumes of lower margin hybrid cables.
OCC reduced selling, general and administrative expenses during fiscal year 2015 by 10.9% compared to fiscal year 2014.
Net loss attributable to OCC (including the non-cash valuation allowance against net deferred tax assets) was $4.3 million, or $0.69 per share, compared to net income attributable to OCC of $684,000, or $0.10 per share, during fiscal year 2014. A non-cash charge of $2.4 million, or $0.39 per share, in connection with a valuation allowance offsetting OCC’s net deferred tax assets, significantly impacted OCC’s net loss for the fiscal year (see Income Tax Expense in our Management’s Discussion and Analysis in this annual report).
OCC generated annual positive cash flow from operating activities again this year. Net cash provided by operating activities was $1.2 million in fiscal year 2015.
OCC returned nearly a million dollars to shareholders by declaring dividends and repurchasing and retiring common shares of OCC during the year.
- OCC declared quarterly cash dividends totaling $0.08 per share during fiscal year 2015, or $560,000, continuing the return of capital to shareholders initiated when our first quarterly dividend was declared in October 2010.
- OCC repurchased and retired 80,636 shares of common stock during fiscal year 2015, returning $380,000 to shareholders.

Ability to Adjust. Actions Taken.

The OCC team has a demonstrated ability to adjust course in challenging operating environments in order to position the Company for future success. The OCC team has taken and is taking the following steps:

Sales and marketing initiatives are underway both to drive increased sales in markets with the greatest growth opportunities and to maintain sales in weaker markets.
Cost reductions were implemented near the end of fiscal year 2015 and during the first quarter of 2016, including workforce reductions expected to save approximately $1.0 million annually beginning in fiscal year 2016 and other cost reductions expected to save approximately $575,000 later in fiscal year 2016.
Modifications to the capital allocation program have been made to enhance OCC’s financial profile, including the suspension of quarterly dividends beginning January 2016, and the suspension of purchases and retirement of OCC shares under our share repurchase plan. We believe these suspensions are temporary. The Board of Directors will regularly evaluate our dividend policy and share repurchase plan to determine the appropriate time to resume the programs. Our existing share repurchase plan, adopted on July 14, 2015, allows for the purchase of up to 400,000 of our common shares. We continue to believe the purchases will be made over a 24- to 36-month period.

These proactive steps were taken after careful and thorough consideration, and will position OCC for future opportunities.

We are committed to enhancing shareholder value, and the OCC team continues to look for additional opportunities to increase sales, realize manufacturing efficiencies, and reduce costs.

Looking Forward to Fiscal Year 2016.

The global macroeconomic environment remains challenging as we enter 2016. The slowing Chinese economy, crude oil prices at 12-year lows, weakness in the stock markets, and downsizing at a number of leading manufacturing companies are headline news.

OCC continues to have a strong market position despite the macroeconomic and market headwinds, and we are confident that OCC is well-positioned for continued growth and success.

We have created a broad and growing suite of top-tier integrated connectivity and cabling solutions through product line expansions and innovative product designs. We are confident that these products and solutions, coupled with our investments in manufacturing, will continue to result in new opportunities for value creation at OCC.

We are also fortunate to have a strong team and a committed base of employees. On behalf of the Board and leadership team, we thank them for their hard work, dedication, and service, which enables OCC to maintain safe and productive operations.

Importantly, OCC’s leadership team remains committed to executing our strategy to create substantial long-term value for shareholders. Current employees and members of the Board of Directors own more than 36% of the outstanding shares of OCC as of October 31, 2015—squarely aligning the team’s interests with those of our shareholders.

All of us at OCC are working hard to ensure OCC’s success, and we are confident that we have the right team and the right plan in place to meet the needs of our customers and create value for all OCC shareholders.

Thank you for your investment in OCC and the privilege of allowing us to lead your company.


/s/ Neil D. Wilkin, Jr.

Neil D. Wilkin, Jr.

Chairman of the Board,

President and Chief Executive Officer

January 25, 2016

Comments & Business Outlook

Mon, 10 Sep 2012 04:00:00 GMT

Third Quarter 2012 Results

OCC's consolidated net sales increased 17.2% to $22.0 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2012, compared to consolidated net sales of $18.8 million for the same period last year.
OCC recorded net income attributable to the Company of $1.2 million, or $0.18 per basic and diluted share, for the third quarter of fiscal 2012, compared to $118,000, or $0.02 per basic and diluted share, for the third quarter of fiscal 2011.

Management's Comments

Neil Wilkin, President and Chief Executive Officer of OCC, said "We are pleased with OCC's strong sales and earnings performance, as sales of our fiber optic cable products continue to drive top-line growth. In our third quarter, OCC again demonstrated that our operating leverage allows us to deliver disproportionate earnings growth rates relative to our net sales growth rates as fixed costs are spread over larger sales volumes. In addition, we continue to maintain a strong balance sheet and return capital to shareholders through a regular quarterly dividend."

Mr. Wilkin added, "OCC has a solid sales order forward load, and we expect our sales strength will continue in our fourth fiscal quarter, despite economic weakness. We will continue to execute our strategy to grow OCC and to deliver enhanced shareholder value, and we look forward to a strong finish to our fiscal year."

Comments & Business Outlook

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 04:00:00 GMT

Second Quarter 2012 Results

Consolidated net sales for the second quarter of fiscal 2012 increased 28.3% to $22.1 million, compared to consolidated net sales of $17.2 million for the same period last year.
OCC recorded net income attributable to the Company of $949,000, or $0.15 per basic and diluted share, for the second quarter of fiscal 2012, compared to a net loss attributable to the Company of $90,000, or $0.02 per basic and diluted share, for the second quarter of fiscal 2011.

Management's Comments

Neil Wilkin, President and Chief Executive Officer of OCC, said, "We are pleased to have established a new record for net sales in our second quarter. Our record results reflect OCC's success winning new business. We particularly are encouraged by increased demand for our fiber optic cable products, which at this time we expect will continue in the second half of fiscal 2012."

Mr. Wilkin added, "Our balance sheet is strong and we continue to return capital to shareholders through the regular quarterly dividend, which the Board increased during the first quarter of this year. We expect the remainder of fiscal 2012 to continue to be characterized by sales and earnings growth for OCC when compared to the same periods in fiscal 2011, as we continue executing our growth strategy and working to improve operations and efficiencies, to create value for shareholders."