Itron (ITRI), Utilismart Team Up for Enhanced Metering Solution

Itron, Inc. ITRI recently collaborated with Utilismart Corporation to deliver comprehensive metering solutions for Canadian and U.S. cooperative and municipal electric utilities.

Utilismart is a specialized provider of best-in-class smart metering solutions. The company assists small and medium-sized utilities in their digital transformation by embracing smart grid capabilities. Its Digital Utility Platform provides utility analytics tools that enable distribution utilities to accelerate their digitalization journey. The company also delivers innovative solutions that help utilities gain meter data management, outage management, engineering analysis, billing, asset management, grid visualization, rate analysis and much more.

Benefits of the Partnership

The latest collaboration between Itron and Utilismart has a number of advantages for electric utilities. Utilismart’s turn-key solution comprising project management, cellular data, meter data reading services as well as secure customer web portal scan prove beneficial for cooperative and municipal electric utilities.

Thus, the integration of Itron’s electric cellular meters with Utilismart’s end-to-end platform will help small-sized utilities or consumers narrow the gap between Automated Meter Reading (AMR) and Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI). This cooperation will offer an alternative fully hosted and operated meter reading solution and data presentment model that will consider the evolving submetering needs of utilities. Now, utilities will be equipped with an end-to-end data management solution that will steer the automation of their business processes as well as aid in expedited future decision-making.

This alliance can prove to be beneficial for a variety of utilities. Some examples include helping utilities with an existing AMR system that does not provide the data necessary for complex industrial billing as well as utilities with commercial/industrial customers who require daily consumption usage data and the presentment of that data for operational decisions. It will also assist utilities with AMR or AMI systems without voltage measurement capability and industrial customers who want to sub-meter their processes and have that data available in a presentment tool.
 
Further, this collaboration underscores Itron’s commitment to joining hands with industry-leading names like Utilismart to help small-sized utilities with detailed analytics on their energy consumption that will assist in streamlining their operations.

For Utilismart, this alliance with Itron expands its product offerings, enhances its expertise and ensures that utilities have consumption data from each point of their distribution network.

Promising Prospects for ITRI

Headquartered in Liberty Lake, WA, Itron is one of the prominent suppliers of a wide array of standard, advanced, and smart meters and meter communication systems, including networks and communication modules, sensors, data analytics and services and software, devices globally.

Itron has been consistently working toward expanding its global presence, taking leverage of reliable and efficient solutions in the utility sector.

A few days back, Itron announced the completion of the sale of its European commercial & industrial (C&I) mechanical gas meter business, gas stations meter and pressure regulation business and global gas regulator business to Dresser Utility Solutions. This sale is an important step for Itron in its journey toward delivering more augmented networks and data-driven outcomes to cater to customers’ individualized needs more efficiently. Moreover, the takeover will enable the company to enhance its focus on state-of-the-art static, communication-capable assets and outcomes for gas, water and electric utilities.

Further, the company’s cloud-based meter management solution named Temetra is being implemented by Ireland’s electricity distribution network operator — Electricity Supply Board Networks or ESB Networks. Itron’s Temetra will aid ESB Networks to improve meter data management by reading more than 1.75 million meters across its service territory and boosting operational optimization.

The company also inked an agreement with Malaysia-based Sarawak Energy to implement the company’s Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) solutions.

Shares of ITRI have dropped 54.7% against the industry’s rise of 1.8% in the past year.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

At present, Itron carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).

Some better-ranked stocks from the broader technology space include Progress Software PRGS, Badger Meter BMI and Iridium Communications IRDM. While Progress Software and Badger Meter sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Iridium carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Progress Software has a projected earnings growth rate of 3.62% for fiscal 2022. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Progress Software’s fiscal 2022 earnings has been revised upward by 6 cents in the past 60 days. The long-term earnings growth rate of PRGS is pegged at 2%.

Progress Software’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in the preceding four quarters, the average surprise being 26.8%. Shares of PRGS have gained 6.5% in the past year.

Badger Meter has a projected earnings growth rate of 5.77% for 2022. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Badger Meter’s 2022 earnings has been revised upward by 19 cents in the past 60 days.

Badger Meter’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the last four quarters and met estimates once, the average surprise being 14%. Shares of BMI have rallied 1.5% in the past year.

Iridium has a projected earnings growth rate of 271.43% for 2022. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Iridium’s 2022 earnings has been revised upward by a penny in the past 90 days.

Iridium’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in two of the last four quarters and met estimates twice, the average surprise being 39.4%. Shares of IRDM have gained 5.2% in the past year.

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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.