Oct. 28, 2009 (PR Newswire) --

NORTHVILLE, Mich., Oct. 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Amerigon Incorporated (Nasdaq: ARGN), a leader in developing and marketing products based on advanced thermoelectric (TE) technologies, today announced results for this year's third quarter and first nine months ended September 30, 2009.

Product revenues for the 2009 third quarter increased 11 percent to $18.4 million, compared with $16.6 million for the third quarter of last year. Sequentially, this compares with $10.7 million for the 2009 second quarter. The increase in revenues was due to higher sales resulting from new introductions of vehicles offering the Company's Climate Control Seat® (CCS®) systems and the addition of a rear seat option on certain existing vehicles subsequent to last year's third quarter. CCS systems include both TE-based heated and cooled systems and heated and ventilated seat systems. The increase was partially offset by lower volumes on existing vehicles reflecting a significant decline in the overall automotive market.

Automotive industry sales volumes, impacted by the decline in worldwide economic activity and the limited availability of consumer credit, were lower during this year's third quarter compared with the year-earlier period. In North America, one of the Company's most important markets, the Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate ("SAAR") for vehicle sales decreased 11 percent to 11.5 million from 12.9 million during the third quarter of 2008. This is an improvement from the 32 percent decline to 9.6 million during the second quarter of 2009 from 14.1 million during the second quarter of 2008. Vehicle production levels have been reduced accordingly.

President and Chief Executive Officer Daniel R. Coker said, "We continue to make important progress and remain optimistic despite the current uncertainty in the global automotive market. While automotive production levels are not back to 2007 levels, we are seeing improvement and potential strengthening in the automotive industry. This coupled with the expected launch of CCS systems in additional vehicles in the coming months, leads us to believe we can return to overall growth for 2010. The interest in our CCS seat systems among car buyers and the automotive industry remains very strong, as does the interest in our thermoelectric technology in general."

Gross margin as a percentage of revenue for the 2009 third quarter was 25 percent compared with 29 percent in the 2008 third quarter. The year-over-year decrease was primarily attributable to higher raw material costs, especially Tellurium, a key component of CCS, and an unfavorable shift in the mix of products sold toward units having a lower gross margin percentage. This was offset partially by higher coverage of fixed cost at the higher volume levels. Net income attributable to Amerigon Incorporated for this year's third quarter was $1.1 million, or $0.05 per share, compared with net income attributable to Amerigon Incorporated in last year's third quarter of $648,000, or $0.03 per share.

In December 2007, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued Statement of financial Accounting Standard No. 160, "Noncontrolling Interests in Consolidated Financial Statements - an amendment of ARB No. 51" ("SFAS 160") to establish new standards that govern the accounting for and reporting of noncontrolling interests in partially owned subsidiaries. SFAS 160 requires that a noncontrolling interest, previously referred to as a minority interest, be reported as part of equity in the Consolidated Financial Statements and that losses be allocated to the noncontrolling interest even when such allocation might result in a deficit balance, reducing the losses attributed to the controlling interest. A 15 percent noncontrolling interest in Amerigon's subsidiary BSST is held by BSST President and CEO Dr. Lon Bell. The change, which went into effect in the first quarter of this year, was not included in the first and second quarters, and as a result, the 2009 third quarter reflects the year to date benefit for this adjustment which increases net income attributable to Amerigon by $342,000, or $0.01 and $0.02 per share for the three- and nine-month periods in 2009, respectively.

For the first nine months of 2009, revenues were $39.3 million, compared with $50.8 million for the year-earlier period. Gross margin as a percentage of revenue for this year's first nine months was 24 percent compared with 31 percent in the first nine months of last year. For the first nine months of 2009, net loss attributable to Amerigon Incorporated was $674,000, or $0.03 loss per basic and diluted share, compared to net income attributable to Amerigon Incorporated of $3.3 million, or $0.15 per basic and $0.14 per diluted share for the prior year period.

The highlights of the 2009 third quarter included the announcement of CCS as a standard feature in the Touring model of the all-new 2010 Nissan 370Z Roadster; the improvement of production levels at automotive OEMs; the establishment of ZT Plus, a partnership with 5N Plus Inc; and the Company's BSST subsidiary being granted the fifth phase of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) program to test a thermoelectric waste heat recovery system on BMW Group and Ford vehicles.

Coker added that the DOE project is one of several underway that demonstrate the potential of expanding the applications of Amerigon's proprietary TE technology. The Company is leading a team of high-profile commercial and academic partners studying the use of TE systems to convert waste heat from automobile exhaust into electric power.

"This is an important project for the U.S. Department of Energy, for Amerigon and all our partners and it could lead to major advances that would vastly improve the efficiency of internal combustion engines," Coker said. "It also serves as a showcase for the potential of thermoelectric technology, which we believe has important and potentially positive implications for the global environment. We are very proud of the work we are doing with the DOE and the partnerships we have established with our entire team."

The Company's balance sheet as of September 30, 2009 remained strong with cash and cash equivalents totaling $24.9 million, total assets of $59.0 million, no bank debt and shareholders' equity of $46.1 million.

CCS systems are currently offered as an optional feature on 44 automobile models produced by Ford, General Motors, Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Hyundai and Kia Motors.