Electro Rent Stumbles in Quarter

Electro Rent Corp. announced its quarterly results Friday, blaming the expiration of a big contract for falling income and revenue. The Van Nuys company, which rents electrical testing equipment, reported net income of $1 million (4 cents a share) for the fiscal third quarter ended Feb. 29, compared to $2.4 million (10 cents) for the same period a year ago. Revenue fell 30 percent to $39.5 million. The one analyst who follows the company expected net income of 11 cents on revenue of $43 million, according to Thomson Financial Network. “During the third quarter, Electro Rent continued to work through the expiration of our Keysight Technologies reseller agreement, which impacted both total revenues and profit, as well as a general business climate in which expected revenue gains have not materialized as quickly as we had hoped,” Chief Executive Daniel Greenberg said in a statement. Greenberg added that the company has work to cut costs but couldn’t make up for the revenue shortfall. Shares closed down 4 cents or a fraction of a percent to $9.21 on the Nasdaq.