Astronics
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Aerospace electronics |
| Founded | 1968 |
| Founder | Thomas L. Robinson, Sr. |
| Headquarters | East Aurora, New York , United States |
Key people | Peter Gundermann (CEO and Acting Chairman), Robert Keane (Chairman) |
| Products | Specialized lighting and electronic integration solutions for military, commercial, and business aircraft; semiconductor testing equipment |
| Owner | Robert Keane (approx. 20% of Class B shares) |
Astronics Corporation is a U.S.-based aerospace electronics firm established in 1968, with its main office located in East Aurora, New York. The company is listed on NASDAQ under the symbol . It provides specialized lighting and electronic integration solutions for military, commercial, and business aircraft, along with semiconductor testing equipment.
Company
Astronics was founded by Thomas L. Robinson, Sr. who came from the Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory. The company originally concentrated on the commercial uses of electroluminescence technology.
Robert Keane, known as the founder of Vistaprint and CEO of Cimpress, holds approximately 20% ownership of Astronics’ Class B shares. Since 2019, he has been serving as chairman. Keane has prior experience at Astronics and is the son of the late Kevin Keane, former CEO (1972–2002) and chairman (1974–2019), who died in 2019.
In 2010, Lufthansa Technik AG initiated legal action against Advanced Electronic Systems (AES), a subsidiary of Astronics, alleging patent violations concerning in-seat power supply technology. The courts sided with Lufthansa, resulting in Astronics paying $4.5 million by 2019. Additional litigation could potentially increase liabilities to $16 million.
Since 2016, Astronics has implemented several share repurchase initiatives, acquiring more than 3.8 million shares by early 2020. As of March 2020, the company had access to a $500 million revolving credit facility, with $333 million already utilized.
The COVID-19 crisis significantly affected Astronics’ operations, causing a $74 million impairment charge, a reduction of its workforce by 30%, salary freezes, and an extra $150 million drawn from credit lines.
Its subsidiaries encompass AES, AeroSat, Armstrong, Astronics Test Systems (ATS), Ballard Technology, Custom Control Concepts (CCC), Connectivity Systems and Certification (CSC), Diagnosys (now ATS), DME, Freedom Communication Technologies, LSI (Luminescent Systems), Max-Viz, PECO, and PGA Electronic. Key clients Boeing and Panasonic Avionics represented 13.6% and 13% of total sales in 2019 respectively.
Astronics generated revenues amounting to $772.7 million in 2019, a decrease from $803.2 million recorded in 2018.
Acquisitions and Divestitures
- On July 18, 2013, acquired PECO for $136 million.
- On December 6, 2013, completed purchase of PGA Electronic for $105 million.
- Acquired Custom Control Concepts on April 3, 2017.
- On December 1, 2017, bought Telefonix Inc. and Product Development Technologies for $105 million.
- Sold semiconductor Automatic Test Equipment division to Advantest for $185 million on February 14, 2019.
- Acquired Freedom Communication Technologies for $22 million on July 1, 2019.
- Purchased Diagnosys Test Systems for $7 million on October 4, 2019.
Leadership history
- CEO
- Kevin Keane served as CEO from 1972 until 2002 and was Chairman from 2002 to 2019
- Peter Gundermann has been CEO since 2003 and Acting Chairman since 2019