Technology products and services provider LoJack Corp. (LOJN), Thursday said it slipped to a first quarter loss from profit a year ago, hurt by sharp decline in domestic auto market, one-time charges as well as a drop in gross margin.
Westwood, Massachusetts-based LoJack's first-quarter net loss was $6.4 million or $0.38 per share, compared to net profitof $1.0 million or $0.05 per share in the corresponding quarter a year ago.
On average, three analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $0.09 per share for the first quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items such as one time charges or expenses.
Operating loss for the quarter was $6.2 million, compared to operating income of $1.0 million in the year ago quarter.
Gross margin for the first quarter decreased to 49% from 52% in the corresponding quarter a year ago, due to significantly lower domestic and international unit volumes, against an infrastructure which contains a level of fixed costs, as well as the impact of severance related costs in the quarter.
For the first quarter, the company incurred a charge of $0.4 million related to work force reduction costs. Excluding the charge, first quarter gross margin would have been 50%. The company reduced its global workforce by more than 20%.
Revenue for the first quarter was down 40% at $27.8 million compared to $46.1 million in the first quarter a year ago and was below the analysts' estimate of $42.97 million for the first quarter. First-quarter domestic auto sales reflected a 38% reduction in revenues.
Domestic revenue for the quarter declined 32% to $21 million from $30.9 million in the same quarter a year ago due to a 45% decline in unit volume, while international revenue for the first quarter decreased 62% to $4 million from $10.3 due to a 66% decline in unit volume.
Boomerang tracking segment recorded revenues of $2.8 million, down from $4.9 million in the same quarter a year ago. The company said the devaluation of the Canadian dollar negatively affected revenue by $0.7 million or 19%.
Looking ahead to the full year, the company expects to generate a modest profit and also expects savings of $5.5 million from the reduction of total employee compensation and benefits and total saving of nearly $15 million from these additional reductions.
LOJN is currently trading at $3.54, down $1.45 or 29.06%, on a volume of 244k shares on the Nasdaq.
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