Tuesday, Exfo Electro-Optical Engineering Inc. (EXFO) reported a slip to loss for the third-quarter ended May 31, 2009, mainly on goodwill impairment charges and foreign exchange losses, even as revenues declined 10.2%. Following the announcement of results, Exfo shares plunged over 12% in after hours trading on the Nasdaq.
Exfo recorded a third quarter net loss of US$23.3 million or US$0.39 per share, compared to net profit of US$11.2 million or US$0.16 per share in the same period last year. Net loss for quarter included US$1.2 million in after-tax amortization of intangible assets and US$0.4 million in stock-based compensation costs.
On average, four analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report a loss of US$0.05 per share for the quarter.
The company also recorded a non cash charge of US$21.7 million related to impairment of good will in the third-quarter of fiscal 2009, following a significant drop in the market capitalization since June 1, 2009.
Exfo also incurred a pre-tax, foreign exchange loss of US$4.7 million in the third-quarter of 2009 due to the impact of a 16.4% increase in the period-end value of the Canadian/US exchange rate.
Sales for the quarter decreased 10.2% to US$43.6 million from US$48.6 million in the comparable quarter last year. Analysts expected the company to report revenue of US$43.58 million for the quarter.
The company reported that net bookings that dropped 20.7% to US$40.2 million for a book to bill ratio of 0.92 in the third-quarter from US$50.7 million in the same period last year.
Gross margin improved to 62.3% of sales in the third quarter of fiscal 2009 from 60.9% in the third quarter of 2008.
Looking ahead to the fourth quarter, Exfo expects sales in the range of US$33 million to US$38 million and GAAP net loss in the range of US$0.10 to US$0.06 per share.
Analysts currently anticipate the company to report earnings or US$0.04 per share on revenues of US$45.48 million for the third quarter.
As part of its cost control efforts, the company reduced its workforce by approximately 5% or 65 employees. The company also applied for a Canadian federal program that would allow certain employees to work four days per week for a maximum of 52 weeks. Exfo will incur severance and other pre-tax related charges of about US$1.3 million that will be accounted for in the fourth-quarter of fiscal 2009.
EXFO closed Tuesday's regular trading at $3.14, down $0.269 or 7.92%. After hours trading the stock went down over 12.40% to $2.75.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.