SRA reports revenue growth to start its fiscal 2006

SRA International grew its top line -- gross revenue -- nearly 40 percent in its September quarter, which also saw a record amount of contract awards.

The integrator increased revenue to $280.7 million in the first quarter of its 2006 fiscal year, a 38 percent hike over the $203.5 million the company generated in the same quarter last year. Net income for the quarter was $14.4 million and diluted earnings per share were 25 cents. This compares with net income of $12.4 million and diluted earnings per share of 22 cents last year.

Renny DiPentima, president and chief executive officer of SRA, said the company achieved record levels of contract awards and backlog in the first fiscal quarter. The company captured contracts in the quarter worth a potential $658 million. The backlog of signed business orders, DiPentima said, grew to more than $3.2 billion, a year-over-year increase of 32 percent.

New business in the quarter included $150 million in task orders from the Defense, Homeland Security and Justice departments related to counterterrorism activities. DiPentima said SRA has been tasked with implementing new business processes and intelligence analysis systems.

DiPentima, speaking yesterday during an earnings teleconference, noted that Galaxy Scientific and Touchstone Consulting Group, both of which SRA acquired this year, contributed $150 million in contract wins in the quarter. Also yesterday, the company closed its purchase of Spectrum Solutions Group, an enterprise resource planning specialist.

DiPentima said that attracting and keeping skilled information technology workers is SRA’s greatest challenge. In the quarter that ended Sept. 30, the company’s turnover rate was 17.9 percent. Turnover in the previous 12 months was 13.7 percent, he added.

DiPentima said SRA is adding recruiters and improving the efficiency of its recruitment process so the company can make job offers in days as opposed to weeks.