Precision Optics posts record sales revenues after ‘year of transformation’

Precision Optics Corporation (POC), the Massachusetts-based maker of high-specification optical subsystems used primarily in endoscopy and satellite communications, has posted its highest-ever figures for quarterly and full-year sales revenues.

At $31.5 million, the latest full-year total was up 65 per cent on the previous 12 months, and largely the result of a sharp increase in business with a “top-tier” aerospace customer working on satellite communications.

And while that line of business is now expected to decline sharply over the next couple of quarters, meaning flat revenues are likely over the coming year, POC’s management team is hopeful that demand will bounce back strongly in around 6-12 months from now.

CEO Joe Forkey told an investor conference call: “Fiscal 2026 was a year of transformation for Precision Optics, and our fourth-quarter results demonstrate the progress we have made.

“Our fiscal 2027 revenue guidance is significantly impacted by the temporary pause in production with our existing satellite customer. As that customer resumes orders and we execute on growing existing and new customers, we anticipate returning to record quarterly revenue levels in the second half of the fiscal year.

“We believe there is a significant market opportunity, and we will continue to invest in capabilities, capacity and market penetration.”

Laser communications terminals

Figures for POC’s most recent quarter, which ended June 30, showed record-breaking sales of $8.8 million, of which $8 million came from production output. Over the course of the year, production revenues totalled $28.1 million, double the prior year.

And although POC still posted an annual net loss of $3.6 million, that figure was much improved from the $5.8 million loss for the prior year.

Commenting on the future potential in optical space communications, Forkey told investors:

“Everyone has heard of SpaceX's Starlink system, which was the first to provide internet access through the use of a satellite constellation. Since Starlink was launched six years ago, the potential for commercial and military applications has become widely recognized, with multiple private and government networks now in orbit, and many more being deployed.

“Virtually all of these low-Earth orbit (LEO) systems utilize laser communications between satellites, which require very precise design and assembly of electro-opto-mechanical systems embedded in so-called laser or optical communication terminals.

“These systems are ideally suited to Precision Optics' proprietary design and manufacturing techniques.”

Forkey believes that as LEO communication protocols become more standardized, the market for laser terminals will expand beyond the current crop of satellite constellation builders, to include other satellites and, eventually, commercial and military aircraft, ships, and potentially ground-based users

POC's current satellite optics business is supported by two major constellation programs, both with plans for thousands of satellites, each with as many as five different communication terminals.

Each of those terminals is also expected to need replacing every few years, something that should lead to a steady replacement business for POC and others.

“Sending a narrow laser beam between moving satellites hundreds or thousands of miles apart requires exceptional optical precision,” pointed out Forkey. “Some of our assemblies in this area require alignment precision as tight as five microns. And the assembly needs to survive the stresses and vibrations associated with rocket launch as well as the complex thermal and vacuum environments in space.”