Sono-Tek Reports Strong Fiscal Year 2025 Financial Results

Rhea-AI Summary

Sono-Tek Corporation (NASDAQ: SOTK) reported strong financial results for FY2025. The company achieved record-high annual revenue of $20.5 million, up 4% from FY2024, marking its fourth consecutive quarter above $5 million in revenue. However, gross profit decreased 1% to $9.74 million, with margins declining to 47.5% from 50%. Net income was $1.3 million, down from $1.4 million in FY2024. The company maintains a strong backlog of $8.67 million and projects continued growth in H1 FY2026. Notable highlights include a 64% increase in Alternative/Clean Energy sales and US/Canada sales growth of 15%. The company's balance sheet remains solid with $11.9 million in cash and no debt. However, management noted limited visibility beyond H1 FY2026 due to uncertainties in clean energy incentives and tariff policies.

Positive

• Record annual revenue of $20.5 million, up 4% YOY
• Strong backlog of $8.67 million at fiscal year-end
• Alternative/Clean Energy sales increased 64% ($3.84M)
• US/Canada sales grew 15% ($1.6M)
• Robust balance sheet with $11.9M cash and zero debt
• Record shipment of 5 high ASP systems totaling $3.85M

Negative

• Gross margin decreased to 47.5% from 50%
• Operating income declined 14.5% to $1.01M
• Net income decreased to $1.3M from $1.4M
• Industrial market sales declined 47% ($1.68M)
• Limited visibility beyond H1 2026 due to market uncertainties

Insights

Financial Analyst

Sono-Tek achieved record revenue with 4% growth, but profitability declined slightly due to margin compression and higher operating expenses.

Sono-Tek's fiscal 2025 results reveal a record-breaking revenue of $20.5 million, marking a 4% year-over-year increase. This growth trajectory is particularly impressive as it represents the fourth consecutive quarter with revenue exceeding $5 million. The company's growth strategy focusing on high Average Selling Price (ASP) systems is clearly bearing fruit, especially evident in the record shipment of 5 high-ASP systems totaling $3.85 million.

However, beneath the headline revenue growth lies some concerning profitability metrics. Gross margin compressed from 50% to 47.5%, attributed to product mix changes and reclassification of labor costs. Operating income decreased by 14.5% to $1.01 million, with operating margin declining from 6% to 4.9%. Net income similarly fell to $1.27 million from $1.44 million, with net margin contracting from 7.3% to 6.2%.

The company's backlog remains robust at $8.67 million, though it's down 6.6% from the prior year's record. This metric provides solid visibility for near-term revenue performance but adds a note of caution regarding momentum.

Geographic and market segment analysis reveals significant shifts in Sono-Tek's business mix. The Alternative/Clean Energy sector surged 64%, adding $3.84 million in revenue, driven by solar market deliveries. Conversely, the Industrial market declined sharply by 47%, losing $1.68 million due to Chinese competition in float glass coating systems. This market concentration increases Sono-Tek's vulnerability to policy changes affecting clean energy incentives.

From a balance sheet perspective, Sono-Tek maintains a strong position with $11.9 million in cash and marketable securities and zero debt. This financial flexibility provides a cushion against the market uncertainties the company explicitly acknowledges in its limited forward guidance.

The company's hesitance to provide full-year guidance beyond H1 FY2026 signals legitimate concerns about market volatility related to clean energy incentives, tariff policies, and order timing. This uncertainty, combined with the margin compression and slight backlog reduction, suggests potential headwinds despite the record revenue achievement.

-Reports Fourth Consecutive Quarter of Revenue above $5 million

-FY 2025 Revenue Growth of 4% YOY

- Backlog Remains Strong at $8.6 Million

- Projecting Continued Revenue Growth and Profitability in the First Half of Fiscal Year 2026

-Conference Today at 11:00 am ET

MILTON, N.Y., May 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sono-Tek Corporation (Nasdaq: SOTK), the leading developer and manufacturer of ultrasonic coating systems, today reported financial results for the fiscal year 2025, ended February 28, 2025.

Dr. Christopher L. Coccio, Executive Chairman, stated, “We are extremely proud of our performance this past fiscal year, with the continuing revenue trend of $5 million plus for the past four consecutive quarters. We remain pleased with the overall performance and trajectory of the business, as reflected by our strong backlog, and are excited to report continued revenue growth in the first half of FY 2026 with continued profitability. While we are seeing steady demand across key markets, our visibility beyond the first half remains limited due to significant uncertainty related to the potential curtailment or elimination of governmental clean energy incentives, rapidly evolving tariff policies, and the timing of customer orders. These factors may impact demand later in the fiscal year. As such, we are only providing visibility into the first half of FY 2026 at this time and intend to revisit guidance when we announce Q1 results.

That said, we are seeing promising momentum in the medical device industry, particularly in interest for our high-volume production systems. With solid customer demand and our strong balance sheet, we remain focused on continued execution and look forward to building on our recent success.”

Steve Harshbarger, CEO & President of Sono-Tek stated, “We continue to be excited by our growth strategies taking hold with customers moving through R&D and pilot systems to complex large-scale production systems with significantly higher ASPs. We also remain excited about our prospects for attracting additional high-volume, high-ASP production system orders in fiscal year 2026 and beyond. We are proud to report record-high revenues for FY 2025, reflecting strong customer demand and momentum. Our strategy of focusing on high average selling priced “ASP” orders continues to drive growth, and we are well positioned as we enter our 50^th year in business. We are excited about our growth and look forward to continued revenue growth and profitability over the long term.”

Fiscal Year 2025 Highlights

• Net Sales: Record $20.5 million, up 4% from $19.7 million in FY 2024, driven by strong shipments to the Alternative/Clean Energy Market. This marks the highest annual revenue in company history.
  
• Gross Profit: $9.74 million, down 1% or $106,000 from the prior year. Gross margin decreased to 47.5% from 50%, mainly due to product mix and the reclassification of labor costs from engineering to cost of goods sold.
  
• Operating Income: Decreased $172,000 to $1.01 million compared to $1.20 million in FY 2024, due to the decrease in gross profit combined with higher operating expenses.
  
• Net Income: Approximately $1.3 million, down from $1.4 million in FY 2024, reflecting a combination of lower gross profit and higher operating expenses.
  
• Other Income: Interest income, dividend income, and unrealized gains on marketable securities totaled $524,000, down $38,000 due to a slight reduction in interest rates.
  

Backlog and Expected Revenue Growth for Fiscal Year 2026

• Backlog: Equipment and service-related backlog remains strong at $8.67 million at fiscal year-end, down 6.6% from the prior year-end record high of $9.28 million.
  
• FY 2026 Guidance: Continued revenue growth and profitability is expected for the first half of the fiscal year ending February 28, 2026, fueled by shipments from Sono-Tek’s strong backlog, projected new and reoccurring orders, steady demand across key markets and promising momentum in the medical device industry, particularly in interest for high-volume production systems.   Visibility beyond the first half remains limited due to significant uncertainty related to potential changes in governmental clean energy incentives, evolving tariff policies, and the timing of customer orders. Sono-Tek intends to revisit guidance when it reports Q1 results.
  
  

Fiscal 2025 Review				(Results compared with fiscal 2024)
($ in thousands)
							Change
		FY 2025			FY 2024		$		%
Net Sales	$	20,504		$	19,700		804		4.0%
Gross Profit	$	9,739		$	9,845		(106)		(1.0%)
Gross Profit		47.5%			50.0%				(2.5%)
Operating Income	$	1,010		$	1,182		(172)		(14.5%)
Operating Margin		4.9%			6.0%				(1.1%)
Net Income	$	1,273		$	1,441		132		11.6%
Net Margin		6.2%			7.3%				(1.1%)

Fourth Quarter Fiscal 2025 Review				(Results compared with the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024)
($ in thousands)
							Change
		FY 2025			FY 2024		$	%
Net Sales	$	5,121		$	4,768		353	7.4%
Gross Profit	$	2,425		$	2,341		84	3.6%
Gross Profit		47.0%			49.0%			(2.0%)
Operating Income (Loss)	$	288		$	(12)		300	2500%
Operating Margin		5.6%			(0.3%)			5.9%
Net Income	$	328		$	157		171	109%
Net Margin		6.4%			3.0%			3.4%

Fiscal Year 2025 Product and Market Sales Overview

• Geography: US/Canada sales increased 15%, up $1.6 million, driven by a record shipment of 5 high Average Selling Price “ASP” systems totaling $3.85 million—the largest number of high ASP systems shipped in a year.
  
• Product Categories: Integrated Coating Systems increased 28%, up $814,000, and Multi-Axis Systems grew 6%, up $603K, both supported by significant orders from the solar and clean energy sectors.
  
• End Markets: Alternative/Clean Energy rose 64%, up $3.84 million, driven by production-scale system shipments to the solar market, including 4 high ASP system deliveries totaling $3.31 million. The Industrial market declined 47%, down $1.68 million as our customers saw reduced demand for float glass coating systems due to rising competition from China-based float glass producers.
  

Balance Sheet and Cash Flow Overview

• At February 28, 2025, cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities totaled $11.9 million compared to $11.8 million at the prior year-end.
• At February 28, 2025, Sono-Tek had no debt on its balance sheet and stockholders’ equity was $17,792,195 million.
• Capital expenditures in the full year of fiscal 2025 were $496,000, which were invested in ongoing upgrades to the Company’s manufacturing facilities.
  

Conference Call Information

• Wednesday, May 28, 2025 at 11:00 am ET.
• Dial in: 1-844-481-2752 or 1-412-317-0668 at least 10 minutes prior to the start of the call and ask to join the Sono-Tek call.

Webcast Information
A simultaneous webcast of the call may be accessed through the Company's website, Events & Presentations | Sono-Tek or at https://event.choruscall.com/mediaframe/webcast.html?webcastid=hrhk6j1y

A replay of the call will be available at 1-877-344-7529 or 1-412-317-0088, access code 6534088, through June 4, 2025. A replay of the call will also be available on the Company’s website for one year at www.sono-tek.com.

About Sono-Tek

Sono-Tek Corporation is a global leader in the design and manufacture of ultrasonic coating systems that are shaping industries and driving innovation worldwide.  Our ultrasonic coating systems are used to apply thin films onto parts used in diverse industries including microelectronics, alternative energy, medical devices, advanced industrial manufacturing, and research and development sectors worldwide.  Sono-Tek's inroads into the clean energy sector are showing transformative results in next-gen solar cells, fuel cells, green hydrogen generation, and carbon capture applications. 

Our product line is rapidly evolving, transitioning from R&D to high-volume production machines with significantly higher average selling prices, showcasing our market leadership and adaptability. Our comprehensive suite of thin film coating solutions and application consulting services are expected to generate unparalleled results for our clients and help some of the world's most promising companies achieve technological breakthroughs and bring them to the market. The Company strategically delivers its products to customers through a network of direct sales personnel, carefully chosen independent distributors, and experienced sales representatives, ensuring efficient market reach across diverse sectors around the globe.

The Company’s solutions are environmentally friendly, efficient and highly reliable, and enable dramatic reductions in overspray, savings in raw material, water and energy usage and provide improved process repeatability, transfer efficiency, high uniformity and reduced emissions.

Sono-Tek’s growth strategy is focused on leveraging its innovative technologies, proprietary know-how, unique talent and experience, and global reach to further develop thin film coating technologies that enable better outcomes for its customers’ products and processes. For further information, visit www.sono-tek.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

This news release contains forward looking statements regarding future events and the future performance of Sono-Tek Corporation that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. These “forward-looking statements” are based on currently available competitive, financial and economic data and our operating plans. They are inherently uncertain, and investors must recognize that events could turn out to be significantly different from our expectations and could cause actual results to differ materially. These factors include, among other considerations, general economic and business conditions; political, regulatory, tax, competitive and technological developments affecting our operations or the demand for our products; inflationary and supply chain pressures; the recovery of the Electronics/Microelectronics and Medical markets; rebound of sales to the industrial market in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2025; maintenance of increased order backlog; the imposition of tariffs; timely development and market acceptance of new products and continued customer validation of our coating technologies; adequacy of financing; capacity additions, the ability to enforce patents; maintenance of operating leverage; consummation of order proposals; completion of large orders on schedule and on budget; continued sales growth in the medical and alternative energy markets; successful transition from primarily selling ultrasonic nozzles and components to a more complex business providing complete machine solutions and higher value subsystems; and realization of quarterly and annual revenues and income within the forecasted range of sales guidance.

For more information:

Sono-Tek Corp.

Stephen J. Bagley
Chief Financial Officer
Ph: (845) 795-2020
info@sono-tek.com

Investor Relations

Kirin Smith
PCG Advisory, Inc.
ksmith@pcgadvisory.com

-FINANCIAL TABLES FOLLOW –

SONO-TEK CORPORATION CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
			February 28, 2025				February 29, 2024
ASSETS
Current Assets:
Cash and cash equivalents			$	5,202,361			$	2,134,786
Marketable securities				6,727,678				9,711,351
Accounts receivable (less allowance for credit losses of $12,225, respectively)				2,347,764				1,470,711
Inventories				4,474,401				5,221,980
Prepaid expenses and other current assets				236,261				207,738
Total current assets				18,988,465				18,746,566
Land				250,000				250,000
Buildings, equipment, furnishings and leasehold improvements, net				2,610,600				2,832,156
Intangible assets, net				37,386				47,566
Deferred tax asset				1,525,185				1,255,977
TOTAL ASSETS			$	23,411,636			$	23,132,265
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Current Liabilities:
Accounts payable			$	859,483			$	1,049,742
Accrued expenses				1,718,574				1,739,478
Customer deposits				2,413,195				3,419,706
Income taxes payable				496,055				414,807
Total current liabilities				5,487,307				6,623,733
Deferred tax liability				132,134				229,534
Total Liabilities				5,619,441				6,853,267
Commitments and Contingencies (Note 13)
Stockholders’ Equity
Common stock, $.01 par value; 25,000,000 shares authorized, 15,751,153 issued and 15,749,037 outstanding as of February 28, 2025, and 15,750,880 issued and outstanding as of February 29, 2024				157,512				157,509
Additional paid-in capital				10,018,034				9,770,387
Accumulated earnings				7,624,516				6,351,102
Treasury stock, at cost, 2,116 shares				(7,867	)			—
Total stockholders’ equity				17,792,195				16,278,998
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY			$	23,411,636			$	23,132,265

SONO-TEK CORPORATION CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME
					Fiscal Year Ended
				February 28, 2025					February 29, 2024
Net Sales				$		20,504,381			$	19,699,886
Cost of Goods Sold						10,765,362				9,855,311
Gross Profit						9,739,019				9,844,575
Operating Expenses
Research and product development						2,724,482				2,885,773
Marketing and selling						3,677,915				3,695,870
General and administrative						2,326,582				2,080,447
Total Operating Expenses						8,728,979				8,662,090
Operating Income						1,010,040				1,182,485
Other Income:
Interest and dividend income						488,504				529,735
Net unrealized gain on marketable securities						35,548				32,360
Income before Income Taxes						1,534,092				1,744,580
Income Tax Expense						260,678				303,117
Net Income				$		1,273,414			$	1,441,463
Basic Earnings Per Share				$		0.08			$	0.09
Diluted Earnings Per Share				$		0.08			$	0.09
Weighted Average Shares – Basic						15,750,997				15,743,763
Weighted Average Shares – Diluted						15,770,102				15,774,007

SONO-TEK CORPORATION PRODUCT, MARKET, AND GEOGRAPHIC SALES (Unaudited)
Product Sales:
		Twelve Months Ended
		February 28,				% of				February 29,				% of				Change
		2025				Total				2024				total				$				%
Fluxing Systems		$	467,000			2	%			$	724,000			4	%			$	(257,000	)		(35%)
Integrated Coating Systems			3,703,000			18	%				2,889,000			14	%				814,000			28%
Multi-Axis Coating Systems			10,678,000			52	%				10,075,000			51	%				603,000			6%
OEM Systems			1,484,000			7	%				1,533,000			8	%				(49,000	)		(3%)
Other			4,172,000			21	%				4,479,000			23	%				(307,000	)		(7%)
TOTAL		$	20,504,000							$	19,700,000							$	804,000			4%

Market Sales:
		Twelve Months Ended
		February 28,				% of				February 29,				% of				Change
		2025				Total				2024				total				$				%
Electronics/Microelectronics		$	5,426,000			27	%			$	5,602,000			29	%			$	(176,000	)		(3%)
Medical			3,250,000			16	%				4,180,000			21	%				(930,000	)		(22%)
Alternative Energy			9,838,000			48	%				5,997,000			30	%				3,841,000			64%
Emerging R&D and Other			67,000			0	%				315,000			2	%				(248,000	)		(79%)
Industrial			1,923,000			9	%				3,606,000			18	%				(1,683,000	)		(47%)
TOTAL		$	20,504,000							$	19,700,000							$	804,000			4%

Geographic Sales:
		Twelve Months Ended
		February 28,				February 29,				Change
		2025				2024				$				%
U.S. & Canada		$	12,506,000			$	10,878,000			$	1,628,000			15%
Asia Pacific (APAC)			2,758,000				3,268,000				(510,000	)		(16%)
Europe, Middle East, Asia (EMEA)			4,431,000				4,333,000				98,000			2%
Latin America			809,000				1,221,000				(412,000	)		(34%)
TOTAL		$	20,504,000			$	19,700,000			$	804,000			4%

FAQ

What were Sono-Tek's (SOTK) key financial results for fiscal year 2025?

Sono-Tek reported record revenue of $20.5M (up 4% YOY), net income of $1.3M, and maintained a strong backlog of $8.67M. However, gross margins declined to 47.5% from 50%.

How much cash does Sono-Tek (SOTK) have on its balance sheet in 2025?

As of February 28, 2025, Sono-Tek had $11.9 million in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities, with no debt on its balance sheet.

Which market segment showed the strongest growth for Sono-Tek in FY2025?

The Alternative/Clean Energy segment showed the strongest growth, increasing 64% ($3.84M) driven by production-scale system shipments to the solar market.

What is Sono-Tek's (SOTK) guidance for fiscal year 2026?

Sono-Tek expects continued revenue growth and profitability in the first half of FY2026, but has limited visibility beyond that due to uncertainties in clean energy incentives and tariff policies.

How did Sono-Tek's operating income change in FY2025?

Operating income decreased by $172,000 to $1.01 million compared to $1.20 million in FY2024, due to lower gross profit and higher operating expenses.