Data storage products maker Iomega Corp reported a small first- quarter profit, marking the second consecutive quarter in the black for the struggling company. Net income was $569,000, compared to a loss in the year-ago quarter of $18.6m, as revenue slipped 5.2% to $386.2m. The profit amounted to a break-even EPS, which is exactly what analysts surveyed by First Call had been looking for.
The Roy, Utah-based company, which had made a promised return to profitability last quarter after three quarters in the red, said its cost-cutting measures allowed it to shave $15m off expenses in the first quarter. But the bad news is that the restructuring initiatives are ongoing, with second-quarter streamlining efforts slated to include consolidating facilities and the further reduction of headcount. All that will result in an unspecified second-quarter charge. Given that the company expects second- quarter results from operations to be comparable to the first quarter, a net loss is unavoidable.
Gross margin for the first quarter was 24.3%, down from 25.1% a year ago. Cash and equivalents as of March 28 increased to $94m from $90m in December and cash flow for the quarter was $6m. By product category, Iomega says it shipped 2.6 million Zip drives in the quarter, an increase of 44%, and 16 million Zip disks, up 39%. Meanwhile, it shipped 118,000 Jaz drives and 422,000 Jaz disks, down 46% and 32%, respectively. First quarter revenue from the new Clik! product platform was $5m, resulting from the shipment of 24,000 drives and 67,000 disks. รก
