By Dean Seal
Shares of Mesa Labs fell after it recorded a surprise loss for the first three months of the year.
The stock was down 12% at $99.99 in midday trading on Wednesday. Shares have dropped 24% since the start of the year.
The maker of life-science tools recorded a loss of $7.1 million, or $1.31 a share, for its fiscal fourth quarter that ended March 31.
That's down from a loss of $254.6 million in the same quarter a year earlier. But the year-ago period included a $274 million goodwill impairment. Analysts polled by FactSet had been expecting Mesa to turn a $2.2 million profit this time around.
Adjusted earnings, which strip out one-time items, of $2.25 a share were 4 cents lower than analysts had projected.
Sales were up 5.5% to $62.1 million, and came in just above analyst targets. Mesa's profitability woes were driven by a jump in performance-based compensation costs, Chief Executive Gary Owens said.
Write to Dean Seal at dean.seal@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 28, 2025 12:20 ET (16:20 GMT)
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