LoJack Corp. last week reported that revenue for the first quarter ended March 31, declined 15 percent to $46.1 million, from $54.1 million in the same period a year ago.
Net income was $1.0 million for the first quarter, compared to $6.1 million for the same period a year ago, and earnings per fully diluted share were $0.05, compared to $0.32 in the same quarter a year ago.
In announcing the results, Richard Riley, chairman and CEO said, “As we reviewed on April 2, our financial performance in the first quarter was directly affected by the continued domestic economic challenges, which have severely impacted the automotive industry, and by the timing of orders from our international licensees. Both revenue and earnings per fully diluted share for the quarter were consistent with our updated guidance of early April.”
Domestic revenue in the first quarter declined 19 percent to $31.0 million from $38.3 million in the prior year, due to a 19-percent decline in unit volume.
International revenue in the first quarter declined 8 percent to $10.3 million, from $11.2 million in the prior year, reflecting a 10-percent decline in unit volume.
“For 2008, we continue to expect revenue to be between $213 million and $218 million for the year, net income to be between $13 million and $15 million, earnings per fully diluted share to be between $0.75 and $0.85, and gross margin as a percentage of revenue to be approximately 55 percent for the year,” said Riley. “Based on the domestic challenges we expect in the second quarter, we anticipate our full year results may be on the lower end of these ranges.”
In February, the LoJack board of directors authorized the repurchase of 1 million shares under 10b5-1 trading plans. The board also authorized additional stock repurchases up to 2 million, for a total repurchase authority of 3 million shares. During the first quarter of 2008, the company repurchased approximately 485,000 shares at an average price of approximately $13 per share. As of March 31, the company had outstanding repurchase authorities of 703,000 shares under 10b5-1 trading plans and approximately 1.8 million available for other repurchases.
Westwood, Mass.-based LoJack Corp. pioneered the stolen vehicle recovery market. The company leverages its technology, direct connection with law enforcement and proven processes to be the global leader in tracking and recovering valuable mobile assets. The company’s Stolen Vehicle Recovery System delivers a 90 percent success rate in tracking and recovering stolen cars and trucks and has helped recover more than $4 billion in stolen LoJack-equipped global assets, including construction equipment.
