WEST WARWICK – AstroNova Inc. reported a profit of $432,000 in the company’s fiscal first quarter ended May 2, a decline from $1.7 million one year prior, the company said on Thursday.
Earnings per diluted share were 6 cents for the quarter, compared with 23 cents per share one year prior. Quarterly revenue totaled $30.9 million, a decline from $36.2 million in the first quarter of 2019.
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The company attributed the slowdown in revenue and profit to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Our performance improved from the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020 due to actions taken that reduced costs and realigned priorities. However, the broad economic disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic added additional constraints and weighed on our first-quarter financial performance,” said Gregory A. Woods, AstroNova’s CEO and president.
The company noted that it applied for and received a $4.4 million Paycheck Protection Program loan and had suspended dividends, mitigating the impact of the pandemic.
The company said its aerospace business, part of its Test & Measurement segment, was hit hardest.
T&M revenue declined 32.2% year over year to $8.5 million. The company’s product- identification segment reported a revenue of $22.4 million, a 5.1% decline from one year prior.
The company also said that given the current environment, it expects its second quarter to be weaker than the first quarter results.
Even faced with the challenges, Woods sounded an optimistic note, praising his workforce.
“Despite the challenging conditions, our global team is doing an outstanding job supporting our customers throughout this pandemic,” Woods said. “At AstroNova facilities around the world, we have maintained production while keeping the health and safety of our employees, customers, suppliers and communities at the forefront of our attention. The early actions we took to shift a significant number of our global team to working remotely, while enhancing our cleaning and protection procedures at our production facilities, have proven to be successful.”
