Unova Shares Fall on News of Lower Earnings

Unova Inc. shares fell as much as 11% after the maker of machine tools and wireless scanners said it will earn about 6 cents a share in the second quarter, less than half the average of analysts’ estimates. Woodland Hills-based Unova fell $1 to close at $13.38 on the New York Stock Exchange. Earlier, the shares fell to $12.75. Most of the earnings shortfall is because of outdated automated systems that run the company’s Intermec Technologies division, which makes hand-held data-collection devices, Unova said. The old systems are causing shipment delays, and the cost of upgrading the systems is cutting into profit, company spokesman Dirk Koerber said. Unova was also hurt by weaker sales at its Cincinnati Machine business, which makes machine tools for the aerospace industry, and by the cost of introducing products at its Honsberg Lamb division in Germany.

Unova had been expected to earn 14 cents a share in the second quarter, the average estimate of analysts polled by First Call Corp. Instead, results will be “close” to the first-quarter profit of 6 cents, the company said Monday after the close of markets. In last year’s second quarter, Unova earned $9.24 million, or 17 cents a share, on sales of $345.2 million.