What: Shares of Liquidity Services (LQDT -0.06%) fell nearly 15% early Thursday after the company announced weaker-than-expected fiscal first-quarter 2016 results.
So what: Quarterly revenue fell 47.4% year over year to $65.9 million, driven by a 38.3% decline in gross merchandise volume to $151.4 million. That translated to an adjusted EBITDA loss of $3.3 million and an adjusted net loss of $3.5 million or $0.11 per diluted share. For perspective, GMV was slightly above Liquidity Services' guidance provided last quarter for $140 million to $160 million. But it fell short of guidance on both adjusted EBITDA, which predicted breakeven results plus or minus $2 million, and adjusted diluted EPS, which called for a range from breakeven to a loss of $0.09 per share.
"Our Q1 results were dampened by lower commodity prices which have adversely affected the pricing and volume of transactions in our DoD and capital assets marketplaces," explained CEO Bill Angrick. "However, we continue to expand our commercial and municipal government client base as our marketplace and integrated services are highly relevant to organizations seeking to manage total supply chain costs in the current business climate."
Now what: Liquidity Services also offered a strikingly similar outlook going forward, calling for GMV of $140 million to $160 million, adjusted EBITDA ranging from a $3 million loss to earnings of $2 million and adjusted earnings per diluted share ranging from breakeven to a loss of $0.11.
That's not to say Liquidity Services can't get back on track going forward, especially as the company quashes uncertainty while navigating its transition to a new Defense Department surplus contract this fiscal year. Liquidity Services also outlined a 15-month plan to maintain its legacy business while at the same time "investing in the development of an integrated global business and new marketplace platform." In the near term, that includes allocating more time and resources toward the new LiquidityOne transformation program centered around next-gen cloud-based marketplace, analytics, and returns management solutions.
But this also means Liquidity Services will be prone to uneven financial performance in the meantime. With shares now down nearly 40% over the past year and given a distant light at the end of the tunnel, it's hard to blame investors for taking a step back from Liquidity Services stock today.
