UTi Worldwide Posts Wider-Than-Expected Q1 Loss, Shares Drop

Shares of

tumbled over 4 percent in after-hours trading after the company reported a wider-than-expected loss for the first quarter. The Long Beach, California-based company reported a quarterly loss of $33.3 million, or $0.35 per share, versus a year-ago loss of $43.7 million, or $0.44 per share. Its revenue slipped 6.8 percent to $973.3 million from $1,043.9 million, while revenue gained 0.7 percent on a constant currency basis. However, analysts were projecting a loss of $0.15 per share on revenue of $1.02 billion. Net revenue (revenue minus purchased transportation costs) dropped 10.8 percent to $329.5 million from $369.4 million. The average estimate among 3 Estimize users was for a loss of $0.15 per share and revenue of $1.03 billion. Its net revenue for Contract Logistics and Distribution slipped 4.7 percent year-over-year to $192.2 million in the first quarter, while net revenue for Freight Forwarding dropped 18.1 percent to $137.3 million. Adjusted EBITDA slipped to $8.0 million from $18.2 million. Operating loss for the first quarter was $18.8 million, versus $3.3 million, in the year-ago period. Edward G. Feitzinger, chief executive officer, said, "Our first quarter results were in line with our expectations coming out of the fourth quarter, reflecting solid execution against the key priorities of our turnaround plan…We made progress this quarter, but we have more work to do on our multi-quarter plan to achieve the level of performance we know we are capable of." UTi Worldwide confirmed its adjusted EBITDA forecast of $125 million to $150 million for fiscal year 2016. UTi Worldwide shares fell 4.61 percent to $9.52 in the after-hours trading session.