What happened
Shares of Dycom Industries (DY -0.85%) had tumbled more than 21% by 10:45 a.m. EST on Wednesday. Weighing on the specialty contracting services provider were its fourth-quarter results and outlook for what's ahead.
So what
Dycom Industries recorded $737.6 million of contract revenue during its fiscal fourth quarter, down from $748.6 million in the year-ago period. However, revenue did come in $12.1 million ahead of analysts' expectations and grew 1.3% year over year after excluding $20.4 million of storm restoration services in the year-ago period.
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The company posted a net loss of $11.2 million, or $0.35 per share. While that was a slight improvement from the $12.1 million adjusted loss it turned in during the year-ago period, it missed the analysts' consensus estimate by $0.19 per share. The main issue was lower margins.
Dycom Industries also provided investors with its outlook for its current fiscal quarter. It expects total contract revenue to be in the range of $730 million to $780 million. Meanwhile, it anticipates producing anything from an adjusted loss of $0.09 per share to an adjusted profit of $0.08 per share. The uncertain outlook is due to a slower-than-expected start on a customer project as well as difficulties with another customer in rolling out its new system.
Now what
Dycom Industries works with telecom providers and utilities to build out the infrastructure they need to support their growth. It's experiencing some problems with a couple of its largest customers, which is weighing on its near-term results. However, it expects to complete several large projects in the next year, which should help it return to profitability if everything goes according to plan.
