Beaverton, Ore. — Runco parent Planar Systems reported a lower-than-anticipated $2.7 million loss for its fiscal second quarter, ended March 27, 2009, on sales of $36.5 million in the period.
The company, which produces commercial and industrial display technologies in addition to display products sold through its Runco and Planar home-theater brands, said overall net sales fell 37 percent in the period, but its balance sheet improved.
The $2.7 million loss was down from a loss of $5.2 million on sales of $58.3 million in the same quarter last year, the company said.
Cash increased $5.7 million, to $23.5 million, and Planar has no outstanding debt.
Net sales from the company’s home-theater business unit declined 37 percent to $7.2 million, compared with
the second quarter of 2008, as demand for high-end home-theater equipment continued to be negatively impacted by the slower spending in luxury home construction and high-end home remodeling.
Planar CEO Gerry Perkel said home-theater segment revenues were down 30 percent in the period, sequentially, “as demand for high-end home-theater systems continued to be fairly soft. However, we were able to improve the profitability of the business substantially in the second quarter.”
“I am pleased with the continued progress we have made strengthening our balance sheet in the face of the global economic slowdown,” said Perkel. “Our cash balance has increased each quarter this fiscal year and while our revenue levels declined in the second quarter, we believe that revenue will increase in our third quarter based on our expectations for increased demand in most of our business segments. Going forward, we are committed to continuing our strategy to strengthen our balance sheet through further dispositions of underperforming or non-strategic assets and improved working capital management. We also anticipate that planned actions to reduce costs will result in additional improvement in our profitability and cash flow.”
