LoJack Corp., a leading provider of tracking and recovery systems for stolen mobile assets, last week released updated 2008 guidance of $0.75 to $0.85 per fully diluted share, primarily as a result of the difficult domestic economic situation more severely impacting the auto business than the company originally anticipated.
“As a result of the disappointing domestic new cars sales in January and February, estimates for the full year 2008 are now expected to be at their lowest level since 1998,” said Richard Riley, chairman and CEO. “The acceleration in the decline of new car sales in the first quarter, announced manufacturing cutbacks on the part of many of the auto manufacturers and concern expressed by several of the large auto retailers, now lead us to believe that the challenges in the domestic auto industry will not improve in the second half of the year, as we originally planned.
“We continue to expect solid double-digit increases in unit volume from our international business for the year.”
The company also provided EPS guidance for the first two quarters of 2008, saying it expects earnings per fully diluted share of approximately $0.04 and $0.20 for the first quarter and the second quarter of 2008, respectively. Additionally, the company now expects revenue to be between $213 million and $218 million for the year.
“These expected results reflect our spending reductions related to lower volumes and our ongoing efforts to manage discretionary spending to mitigate domestic economic challenges,” said Riley. “We will, however, continue to make investments in the strategic programs we previously identified to insure our long-term growth. We are focused on diversifying the LoJack business through our efforts to enter new markets, grow our international business and develop new products based on our proven technology.”
Westwood, Mass.-based LoJack Corp., employs in-vehicle tracking equipment to recover stolen assets, including cars, trucks, commercial vehicles, construction equipment and motorcycles.
