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Broadwind Energy 1Q sales down 5 percent

CICERO - Broadwind Energy reported sales of $46.8 million in the first quarter of 2016, down 5 percent compared to $49.2 million in same period of 2015.

The company attributed the drop to lower steel prices and reduced demand for gearing from oil and gas and mining customers.

The company reported a net loss from continuing operations of $. 4 million, or 2 cents per share for the quarter, compared to a net loss from continuing operations of $2.5 million, or 17 cents per share last year. The 15 cents per share improvement was due primarily to significantly improved operating efficiencies in the company's Abilene, TX tower facility compared to a weak prior-year quarter associated with production challenges faced in Q1 2015, a $. 7 million reduction in depreciation expense, and a $900,000 reduction in operating expense attributable to cost management initiatives.

"Broadwind is off to a solid start in 2016, nearly doubling our order intake compared to Q1 2015 and generating $3 million of free cash flow during the quarter," said Broadwind Interim CEO Stephanie Kushner. "Our Towers and Weldments segment has recovered soundly from the production challenges we faced predominantly in the Abilene facility for most of last year, and tower production is once again flowing at plant designed rates.

"In the Gearing segment, we continue to manage our costs judiciously amidst significantly lower sales to oil and gas and mining customers. Due in part to our stringent cost management across the Company, the consolidated operating loss for the quarter was reduced by $2 million compared to Q1 2015. We remain on track to reduce fixed overhead and SGA expenses by $8 million in 2016, compared to 2015," Kushner added. "We continue to be focused on improving production and tightly managing costs across the Company. For Q2, we expect $42-44 million in revenue and a small operating loss, consistent with Q1 2016."

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