ECtel Ltd. falls on weak 1Q sales
April 12 (SmallCapInvestor.com) – Shares of ECtel Ltd. (Nasdaq: ECTX) have lost almost 30% of their value following news the Israeli provider of revenue management software anticipates a fall in first-quarter 2007 sales due to a slowdown in orders.
“First quarter revenues were lower than our internal work plan following both a delay in the receipt of previously anticipated orders and a delay in receiving acceptance for certain customer projects that are part of our backlog,” President and CEO Eitan Noar said in a statement before the start of trading. Noar added that he expects delayed revenues from the backlog of orders to be realized in the quarters ahead.
Revenue for the first quarter of 2007 is expected at between $3.4 million and $3.6 million, compared with revenue of $6.7 million in the first quarter of 2006, ECtel reported. The drop will most likely hurt first-quarter earnings, the company said. Wall Street had projected revenue of $7.5 million.
ECtel attributed the decrease in sales to slower than anticipated orders from countries of the former Soviet Union, as well as a delay in a large order from a long-standing European customer. The company also suffered a delay in receiving acceptance for certain customer projects from its 2006 backlog.
So far this year, ECtel has received new orders from Venezuela, Thailand, Portugal, and the UK, totaling more than $3.7 million.
Final results for the first quarter of 2007 are expected on May 9.
At 12:29 ET shares were down $1.25, or 27.53%, to $3.29. The 52-week high is $5.75, set on May 3, 2006. The 52-week low of $3.79 was reached on July 10, 2005.
