PAR posts profit increase in Q4, but loss for 2011

NEW HARTFORD — Earnings rose slightly in the fourth quarter at PAR Technology Corp, (NYSE: PAR), but it wasn’t enough to prevent the technology company from reporting a net loss for the year as sales slipped more than 2 percent.

PAR generated net income of $1.8 million, or 12 cents per share, in the fourth quarter, up slightly from net income of $1.7 million, or 11 cents a share, in the year-ago period. But revenue declined to $60.1 million in the latest quarter from $63.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2010.

For the full year, PAR reported a net loss of $13.4 million, or 89 cents per share, on revenue of $229.4 million, compared with net income of $5 million, or 33 cents a share, on sales of $235 million in 2010.

PAR’s share price closed at $5.04 on Feb. 15, the night before issuing the profit report. On Feb. 16, after the report, the stock opened lower at $5.00 and traded as low as $4.93 that morning. PAR’s stock had been on a roll in the weeks leading up to its earnings release, rising steadily since trading as low as $3.38 on Dec. 20.

PAR’s leader said the company met its objectives in the fourth quarter.

“Since joining PAR, I have stressed focusing and streamlining our organization so we can best realize the important hospitality investments we have made to date,” Chairman and CEO Paul B. Domorski said in the earnings release. “The fourth quarter met our expectations, producing solid results in a slowly improving economic environment. Besides the results, we demonstrated tangible progress towards our strategic goals as evidenced by the sale of our logistics segment, the selection by Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. of our in-store food safety technology solution SureCheck, and the successful deployment of our new cloud-based property management solution ATRIO.”

He stressed that focusing on the fundamentals, including improving the balance sheet, while changing the company’s business model, is starting to yield results. Domorski took over as CEO last April after the retirement of company founder John Sammon.

“Our business segments performed consistent with our expectations for the quarter,” Domorski continued. Hospitality revenues, excluding sales to McDonald’s which suffered following the conclusion of an in-store technology upgraded in 2010, increased, including a 13 percent increase in sales to YUM! Brands, he said. International sales also showed growth, a good sign of overall
economic recovery, he said.

PAR’s government segment produced a 21 percent increase in revenue, driven primarily by a new $42.5 million, five-year contract with the U.S. Army to supply intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance technologies and services.

“In conclusion, we see 2011 as a year of transition as we remain committed to building a world-class company,” Domorski said.

Headquartered in New Hartford, PAR (www.partech.com) has two main operating segments. Its hospitality technology segment produces and sells technology products and services for restaurants, hotels, spas, retailers, cinemas, cruise lines, stadiums, and food-service companies. PAR’s government segment develops geospatial and full-motion video products for various levels of government and provides communications and information technology support to the U.S. Department of Defense. 

NEW HARTFORD — Earnings rose slightly in the fourth quarter at PAR Technology Corp, (NYSE: PAR), but it wasn’t enough to prevent the technology company from reporting a net loss for the year as sales slipped more than 2 percent.

PAR generated net income of $1.8 million, or 12 cents per share, in the fourth quarter, up slightly from net income of $1.7 million, or 11 cents a share, in the year-ago period. But revenue declined to $60.1 million in the latest quarter from $63.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2010.

For the full year, PAR reported a net loss of $13.4 million, or 89 cents per share, on revenue of $229.4 million, compared with net income of $5 million, or 33 cents a share, on sales of $235 million in 2010.

PAR’s share price closed at $5.04 on Feb. 15, the night before issuing the profit report. On Feb. 16, after the report, the stock opened lower at $5.00 and traded as low as $4.93 that morning. PAR’s stock had been on a roll in the weeks leading up to its earnings release, rising steadily since trading as low as $3.38 on Dec. 20.

PAR’s leader said the company met its objectives in the fourth quarter.

“Since joining PAR, I have stressed focusing and streamlining our organization so we can best realize the important hospitality investments we have made to date,” Chairman and CEO Paul B. Domorski said in the earnings release. “The fourth quarter met our expectations, producing solid results in a slowly improving economic environment. Besides the results, we demonstrated tangible progress towards our strategic goals as evidenced by the sale of our logistics segment, the selection by Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. of our in-store food safety technology solution SureCheck, and the successful deployment of our new cloud-based property management solution ATRIO.”

He stressed that focusing on the fundamentals, including improving the balance sheet, while changing the company’s business model, is starting to yield results. Domorski took over as CEO last April after the retirement of company founder John Sammon.

“Our business segments performed consistent with our expectations for the quarter,” Domorski continued. Hospitality revenues, excluding sales to McDonald’s which suffered following the conclusion of an in-store technology upgraded in 2010, increased, including a 13 percent increase in sales to YUM! Brands, he said. International sales also showed growth, a good sign of overall
economic recovery, he said.

PAR’s government segment produced a 21 percent increase in revenue, driven primarily by a new $42.5 million, five-year contract with the U.S. Army to supply intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance technologies and services.

“In conclusion, we see 2011 as a year of transition as we remain committed to building a world-class company,” Domorski said.

Headquartered in New Hartford, PAR (www.partech.com) has two main operating segments. Its hospitality technology segment produces and sells technology products and services for restaurants, hotels, spas, retailers, cinemas, cruise lines, stadiums, and food-service companies. PAR’s government segment develops geospatial and full-motion video products for various levels of government and provides communications and information technology support to the U.S. Department of Defense.