Keith Bair to ‘pursue other opportunities’
FARO Technologies, Inc. said Monday its CFO for the past eight years, Keith Bair, will be replaced March 31 by Peter Abram, an executive with an extensive financial, strategic and operational background and over 20 years of experience at multinational corporations.
Lake Mary, Fla.-based FARO designs, manufactures and markets 3D measurement and imaging systems used for inspecting components and assemblies, rapid prototyping, documenting large volume spaces or structures in 3D, surveying and construction, and for accident and crime scene investigation and reconstruction.
“Peter is joining FARO at a pivotal time,” said FARO CEO Jay Freeland. “We have been executing on a comprehensive organizational plan to strengthen FARO’s senior management, aligned with our broader goal to take FARO to a new level of performance.”
FARO said Bair’s exit is part of a “planned transition in financial leadership.” The company said Bair will “pursue other opportunities.”
“Keith has done a tremendous job in managing FARO’s financial function through periods of growth and through the recent recession,” said Freeland. “We wish him well in his future endeavors.”
Abram will take on the dual role of senior vice president and CFO at the publicly traded (NASDAQ: FARO) company. He most recently served as CFO with inVentiv Health Clinical LLC in Blue Bell, Pa., just outside Philadelphia. Abram also served as director of global sales operations for PerkinElmer’s Life and Analytical Sciences division.
The company’s stock fell just over 1 percent after the opening bell Tuesday to $56.18. The stock closed down 10 cents Monday to $56.69 a share. FARO shares have a 52-week high of $60.91 and a 52-week low of $32.50. The company has market capitalization of $976.1 million and a P/E of 46.13.
FARO reported late last month a 7 percent increase in fourth-quarter net income to $8.3 million, or $0.48 per share, on sales of $89.9 million, an 11.4 percent increase. The company also reported fourth-quarter new order bookings were $98.6 million, up more than 20 percent.
“We enter 2014 with solid momentum from our growth in the second half of 2013, a portfolio of new products with high customer acceptance already in the market, a pipeline of new product launches planned for 2014, and increased resources deployed in sales and R&D to capitalize on improving market conditions and to expand and accelerate product development,” said Freeland.
2013 Results
For the year ended Dec. 31, FARO reported a 6.7 percent increase in revenue to $291.8 million due to an “increase in worldwide demand” for its products and services.
Net income fell by $1.5 million to $21.5 million for the year. Cash flow from operations for 2013 was $34.3 million, compared to $27.9 million in 2012. Research and development expenses increased $4.8 million, or 27.5 percent, to $22.4 million for the year.
The company’s FaroArm, FARO Laser ScanArm and FARO Gage articulated measuring devices, the FARO Laser Tracker Vantage, the FARO Focus3D, and the FARO 3D Imager AMP, and their companion CAM2 software, provide for Computer-Aided Design, or CAD, based inspection and/or factory-level statistical process control and high-density surveying.
The devices integrate the measurement, quality inspection, and reverse engineering functions with CAD software to improve productivity, enhance product quality and decrease rework and scrap in the manufacturing process. The Company uses the acronym “CAM2” for this process, which stands for computer-aided measurement.
