Advanced Lighting Technologies Drops 37% Despite As-Expected Earnings
Dow Jones Online News, Thursday, September 24, 1998 at 21:46
NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Despite reporting fourth-quarter earnings that
met expectations, Advanced Lighting Technologies Inc. shares lost 37%
Thursday.
"I think there was some confusion on the conference call," said
Raymond James analyst John T. Mahoney. "Investors were spooked by the
fact that the company wasn't able to make forward-looking comments
regarding the company's situation."
Mahoney attributed the lack of information on the company's outlook
to the Securities and Exchange Commission's nondisclosure rule. Advanced
Lighting filed a shelf registration in July.
Shares of the Cleveland-based maker of metal halide lighting products
initially rose 12.8% following the release of the company's earnings,
but began trending downward around 11:30 a.m. EDT Advanced Lighting's
conference call began shortly after 11 a.m. EDT, said Advanced Lighting
spokesman Rick Barone.
Barone didn't offer any other explanation for the movement in
Advanced Lighting shares.
"We did meet our expectations," said Barone. "The company feels good
about where the businesses are at for the long term."
Barone wouldn't comment on Mahoney's view, saying it was subject to
intepretation.
Advanced Lighting shares (ADLT) tumbled $7.188 to $12.125 on Nasdaq
volume of 1.2 million shares. Average volume is 91,800.
Advanced Lighting's overall fourth-quarter performance won't change
Raymond James analyst Mahoney's fiscal year 1999 earnings expectation of
$1.06 a share.
"Gross margins are great, and getting better," Mahoney said. However,
he believes the company's fourth quarter was helped by a
lower-than-expected tax rate.
Advanced Lighting earned $4.3 million, or 21 cents a share, on sales
of $53 million, compared with earnings of $2.6 million, or 19 cents a
share, on sales of $25.4 million in the year-ago period.
Also, Mahoney noted sales, general and administrative expenses were
about $1 million higher than expected because of the launch of a product
called Pulse Start. He expects those expenses to decline once the
product's roll-out is completed.
Advanced Lighting spokesman Barone wouldn't comment on the effect of
Pulse Start's launch on the company's first-quarter earnings.
Barone noted there was a softness in fourth-quarter sales, which he
attributed to Advanced Lighting's focus on its core metal hallide
lighting products.
"Advanced Lighting strategically backed away from sales of products
in our noncore areas during the quarter," Barone said.
-Christina Cheddar; 201-938-5154
Copyright (c) 1998 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.
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