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Garmin Net Plunges 67%, Misses Estimates

Joseph Woelfel

Garmin(GRMN Quote) said first-quarter earnings fell 67% to $48.5 million, or 24 cents a share, from $147.8 million, or 67 cents a share, a year earlier as sales fell 34%.

Excluding foreign exchange, earnings in the quarter were $50.5 million, or 25 cents a share. Sales in the quarter were $436.7 million compared with $663.8 million a year earlier.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected Garmin, a maker of global positioning devices, to earn 42 cents a share on sales of $531.6 million.

"Macroeconomic factors have contributed to a significant slowdown in consumer discretionary spending which has been further exacerbated by ongoing channel inventory reductions by our retail partners in the (portable navigation devices) industry," Garmin said in a statement Wednesday.

Garmin said automotive/mobile segment revenue decreased 43% in the first quarter to $260 million.

The company said new products, along with steps to reduce costs, will help to improve its profitability levels in the second quarter.