Concord Camera Slammed on Loss

Concord Camera (LENS Quote) plunged in early trading Monday after the company swung to a loss in the fourth quarter.

The company reported a loss of $10.1 million, or 36 cents a share, vs. a profit of $1.7 million, or 6 cents a share, in the year-ago period.

During the quarter, the company completed the acquisition of Germany's Jenimage for $14.5 million, resulting in an extraordinary gain of $5.8 million, or 20 cents a share. Excluding that, the company posted a loss of 56 cents a share. Analysts expected the company to lose 5 cents a share, based on a Thomson First Call survey.

Revenue slumped about $15% to $52.4 million "due to pricing pressures for digital cameras, lower unit sales for all products and increases in estimated sales returns and allowances." Gross profit fell to 5.1% of net sales, vs. 17.3% a year ago.

The quarter included a goodwill impairment of $3.7 million and a 42% increase in general and administrative costs.

Shares fell 18 cents, or 9.6%, to $1.70 in premarket trading.