Hurco sees quarterly shrinkage in profit, sales

Indianapolis-based Hurco Cos. realized a smaller profit in its latest quarter as sales slumped, but a big increase in orders bodes well for later this year, company officials said Friday morning.

The manufacturer of computerized machine tools for the metal-cutting industry posted revenue of $48.7 million in its fiscal first quarter ended Jan. 31. That’s down 14 percent from the $56.5 million in revenue Hurco had in the same quarter of the previous year.

Profit was $879,000, or 13 cents per share, down from $3.9 million, or 58 cents per share, in the year-ago period.

Revenue was down in all three of Hurco’s sales regions. It fell 12 percent in Europe, to $25.5 million; 12 percent in the Americas, to $16.7 million; and 24 percent in Asia Pacific, to $6.5 million.

Orders in the first period, however, rose 19 percent, an increase of $9.7 million, to $61 million. Orders were up 43 percent in Asia Pacific, 21 percent in the Americas, and 13 percent in Europe.

“I am encouraged by the increased volume of orders we received from all product lines and geographic regions during the first quarter of fiscal 2017 compared to the first quarter of fiscal 2016,” Hurco CEO Michael Doar said in written comments.

Hurco shares rose 3.7 percent Friday morning, to $27.80 each, but are down 17 percent since the beginning of the year.