Harris starts new fiscal year with 23% revenue drop

Total revenue for Q1, which CEO Kimberly Till said was historically the firm’s weakest segment of the year, was $38.9m, down $11.3m on the first quarter of fiscal 2009.

Operating loss, however, was $0.4m compared to $3.2m a year ago, while net loss was $0.6m compared to $2.3m last year.

By country, and measured in local currency terms, revenue fell by 25% in the US, 17% in the UK, 16% in Canada, 19% in Germany and 15% in Asia. France provided a bright spot with a 35% revenue increase.

Till (pictured) said: “We experienced a 23% decline in our consolidated revenues for this year’s first quarter compared to the same period a year ago. But to put this in context, it’s important to note that we did not begin to see the impact of the global recession on our performance until the second quarter of fiscal 2009. So it is difficult to compare last year’s first quarter to the first quarter of this year. Despite this decline, I’m pleased with our efforts to rebuild our revenue base, and we will continue to focus heavily on this area.”

She said the firm was making “substantial progress” on each of the four key elements of its strategy, namely the creation of specialised client teams; improving the efficiency of internal processes; the creation of a global account programme; and the development of new products and solutions.

“We have a comprehensive plan in place to drive the four key elements of our strategy and to achieve our financial goals for the year,” said Till. “I’m pleased with the progress we’ve made thus far and excited about the initiatives we have underway.”