Data I/O reports Q2 EPS (9c), two estimates (1c)

Reports Q2 revenue $5.1M, two estimates $6.3M. Commenting on the second quarter ended June 30, 2024, Anthony Ambrose, President and CEO of Data I/O Corporation, said, “Bookings and revenue were soft in the second quarter and below our expectations. We saw divergent business conditions across our sales regions. Through the first half of the year, Asia and EMEA sales regions are performing ahead of expectations and the Americas have been substantially below expectations. We have seen strength in programming centers and industrial markets in the first half of 2024, with weakness in automotive electronics. We also have strong traction in new customer and location acquisitions with 8 new wins in the second quarter, totaling 13 for the year. Capacity additions from existing customers are seeing significant pushouts, as customers are being very selective on new capacity spending. With all of these factors, our bookings of $13.7 million in the first half 2024 increased slightly from $13.3 million in the prior year period. Backlog of $5.4 million at the end of the second quarter increased from $4.5 million at March 31, 2024 and $3.8 million at the end of the second quarter of last year. We made significant progress on spending controls, process efficiencies and direct product costs. Successful implementation of this strategy is evident in our second quarter performance. Gross margin as a percentage of sales increased 170 basis points from the first quarter 2024 even as sales declined sequentially. Operating expenses in the second quarter were reduced by 21% from the prior year period and 19% from the first quarter of this year.”