Pinnacle sees light despite 2009’s red ink - Business First of Columbus:

Pinnacle sees light despite 2009’s red ink - Business First of Columbus:

s information technology provider Pinnacle Data Systems Inc. mounts an effort to return to profitability this year, the Groveport company closed the books on 2009 with a loss of more than $3 million. The company told investors Thursday that it lost $390,000, or 5 cents a share, in the last three months of 2009, a swing from a profit of $336,000, or 4 cents a share, a year earlier. The fourth-quarter results included $1 million in severance costs and reorganization expenses as Pinnacle (AMEX:PNS) rolled out a plan to save $2 million annually, in part by focusing on its smaller but more profitable services business and cutting investment in its products division.
The company has 120 full-time employees, down from 167 at the end of 2008.
Revenue in the quarter plummeted 46 percent to $8.7 million from $16.1 million, driven down by a 61 percent plunge in product sales to $5.3 million. Pinnacle’s service sector grew sales 34 percent to $3.4 million. Despite the year-over-year decline, the company noted that revenue grew compared with the third quarter, the first such increase in more than a year.
CEO John Bair, who took the top job last November amid a management shake-up, called the quarter-to-quarter sales gain a “turning point” for Pinnacle.
“We have dramatically reduced our cost structure and focused the entire organization on execution and growth in our service and product programs where our engineering and operational expertise are highly valued,” Bair said in a release.
Pinnacle’s full-year loss totaled $3.5 million, or 44 cents a share, compared with a loss of $361,000, or 5 cents a share, in 2008. Revenue fell 44 percent to $35.6 million from $63.6 million.
Pinnacle designs and builds computer systems and provides IT management services.