The Mountain Lakes, New Jersey-based company has cut its direct costs so that its gross margin for the quarter increased to 33% from 27%. The net loss was $1.7m compared to net loss of $5.1m a year ago.
For the full year, the company’s sales fell 17% to $245.2m from $297.1m a year ago. Its net loss improved to $14.9m from $38.0m in 2002.
CHC said its IT services staffing unit suffered a 33% sales decline in the fourth quarter compared to the year-ago figure, and that it does not expect any growth in this sector in the near term. This unit’s failings were partly offset by higher sales at it its IT solutions unit, though this was solely a result of its acquisition in July 2003 of RGII Technologies, an IT services company focused on the federal government sector.
For the first quarter of 2004, it expects revenue to shrink to between $59m and $61m, but CEO William Murphy said the company is cautiously optimistic about the year ahead.
During the fourth quarter, CHC finally settled its legal action with Aquent, the IT services firm that attempted a hostile takeover of CHC last April for $5 a share. CHC’s share price has never outstripped that offer price and it is currently trading at $4.37, giving it a market value of $133m.
This article is based on material originally published by ComputerWire
