Profits rise despite sales decline at NI

Excluding this customer, the company's total orders were down 1 percent for the quarter with orders under $20,000 down 2 percent year over year; orders between $20,000 and $100,000 down 5 percent year over year; and orders above $100,000 up 9 percent year over year.

The good news is that Q2 profits rose 2 per cent to $25m.

"The strength of our business model allowed us to adapt to the impact of the stronger U.S. dollar during Q2, allowing us to deliver record non-GAAP operating profit for a second quarter," said Dr. James Truchard, NI president, CEO and cofounder. "I am confident we are building the new product pipeline, channel and operational excellence necessary to drive the long-term growth and profitability of the company. I am particularly excited about our early success in 5G wireless, where our innovative technology platform is enabling researchers to prototype algorithms for next-generation wireless networks."

"Despite significant headwinds related to the strength of the U.S. dollar and the decline in the Global PMI, I am pleased to see the company deliver record non-GAAP operating profit for a second quarter. This past quarter, we continued to execute on our long-term strategy for mitigating the impact of the strengthening U.S. dollar," said Alex Davern, NI COO and CFO. "We expect to continue to experience a drag on our revenue through Q3 because of currency headwinds and lower orders from our largest customer; however, entering Q4, we expect to have more favorable compares on both factors, which should allow the strength of our broad-based business to show through."

The strengthening US dollar looks likely to prove a headwind going into Q3.

As a result, NI currently expects Q3 revenue to be in the range of $290 million to $320 million. Included in its revenue guidance is an expectation that revenue from NI's largest customer will be approximately $5 million in Q3, compared with $17 million in Q3 last year.