iRobot Corp. (IRBT) – Buzz Stock of the Day

Shares of robotics technology solutions provider, iRobot Corp. (Nasdaq: IRBT) were up as much as 30 percent from yesterday’s close in morning trading today after the company announced better-than-expected first quarter results.

First quarter profit increased to $6 million, from a loss of $2 million in the same period a year ago. Revenue increased 67 percent to $95 million, from $57 million in the same period a year ago.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters on average expected the company to earn 4 cents per share on revenue of $83.8 million.

The company said its international home robot revenue more than doubled to $37 million during the quarter, and its government and industrial robot revenue rose 76 percent.

“As a result of outstanding performance by both divisions in the first quarter and good visibility on the rest of 2010, we are increasing our full-year financial expectations,” said chairman and CEO, Colin Angle in a statement.

iRobot anticipates earning between 6 cents to 8 cents per share for the second quarter and 35 cent to 40 cents per share for the full year. Analysts expected the company to post a loss of 4 cents per share for the second quarter and a profit of 23 cents per share for the year.

With $62.9 million in cash and equivalents, and only $3.9 million in long-term debt, the company has also begun to look at opportunities to grow by acquisition, according to CFO, John Leahy. “M&A has moved up the priority list in terms of things we’re spending time on,” he said. However, he added that due to its optimistic view on its own potential for organic growth, the company plans to be “very cautious” in its evaluation of potential acquisition targets.

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