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Volt staffing revenue falls 17% amid lower demand at some large clients

March 14, 2014

Volt Information Sciences Inc. (OTCBB: VISI) reported staffing services revenue fell 17.3 percent in its fiscal first quarter to $392.3 million because of fewer contingent workers on assignment at a few large customers who experienced lower demand levels. Staffing services gross margin was 13.0 percent in the first quarter compared to 13.1 percent in the year-ago quarter.

Volt, a provider of information technology and engineering staffing, ranks as the 12th-largest U.S. staffing firm. Its fiscal first quarter ended Feb. 2.

Total revenue at Volt, which includes its computer systems division, fell 16.0 percent in the first quarter to $437.1 million. The company posted a net loss of $17.1 million, unchanged from the first quarter of the previous year.

The first quarter included costs of $4.7 million for restatement, investigations and remediation costs. It also includes restructuring costs of $1.4 million.

“At the beginning of the quarter we reorganized our traditional staffing services business to better facilitate efficiency and profitability, and we are continuing our initiative to exit or reduce staffing business levels with customers where profitability or business terms are unfavorable,” said President and CEO Ron Kochman.

“While we are disappointed at the lower demand levels at a few of our large customers compared to last year that was the primary cause of lower staffing segment operating income, we are pleased that our initiatives resulted in higher margin ratios and traditional staffing costs that decreased largely consistent with the lower revenues,” Kochman said.

“We divested ProcureStaff, our VMS business, as this business no longer met our return parameters for growth and profitability,” he continued. “These are steps in an ongoing process as we seek to prioritize profitability over topline growth, creating greater value for our shareholders. We are also pleased to report that Volt’s first quarter 2014 earnings results will be filed on schedule for the first time since 2009, a significant achievement in the company’s multi-year financial restatement and remediation process.”

Shares in Volt fell 4.90 percent in late morning trading to $9.50, and the firm has a market cap of approximately $198.07 million, according to Yahoo!