Ituran Location & Control Ltd. (NASDAQ:ITRN) reported stronger-than-expected third-quarter revenue on Tuesday, although earnings landed just shy of analyst projections. The company added 40,000 net subscribers in the period, lifting its total base to 2.59 million users.
Revenue reached $92.3 million, ahead of the $88.89 million analysts anticipated and up 11% from a year earlier. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $0.74, missing expectations by a single cent versus the $0.75 consensus.
Subscription income—representing nearly three-quarters of total revenue—climbed 13% year over year to $67.6 million. Product sales also rose, increasing 4% to $24.7 million. Compared with last year, Ituran’s subscriber count expanded by 219,000.
“The third quarter marked a strong quarter for Ituran, in particular, we showed strong subscription revenue growth,” said Eyal Sheratzky, Co-CEO of Ituran. “Ituran’s overall subscriber growth is being driven by our long-term efforts and success in bringing customers new value-adding telematics and connected-car products and services.”
Gross profit improved 16% to $46.4 million, with margins widening to 50.3% from 48.1% in the prior year. Operating income rose 7% to $19.6 million, while EBITDA increased 6% to $24.6 million.
The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, amounting to $10 million in total. Ituran also repurchased $1.5 million in shares during the quarter, leaving approximately $5.2 million still authorized under its buyback plan.
Additionally, Ituran disclosed the launch of its IturanMOB service in the United States, expanding its smart-mobility platform for rental fleets and shared-mobility operators following earlier traction in Brazil.