kingwoep schreef op 21 april 2015 11:20:
UPDATE 1-TomTom sees promise in recent sales wins
(Adds comments from CEO, share price rise)
By Toby Sterling
(Reuters) - TomTom, the Dutch satellite navigation and mapping company, reported a loss for the first quarter of 2015 on Tuesday but its chief executive forecast a significant rise in sales beginning in 2016 after recent client wins.
Chief Executive Harold Goddijn said recent deals with vehicle makers Volkswagen, Hyundai Motor Co , Fiat and others, will only affect the company's sales in the coming quarters.
"We will see an uptick toward the fourth quarter of 2015," he said.
Revenue in the automotive sector "will improve and increase significantly" in 2016, he added.The company posted a net loss of 6.9 million euros ($7.4 million) in the first three months of 2015, which compared with a net profit of 7.6 million euros in the same period last year, on sales of 205 million euros.
Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast a loss of 3.3 million euros on sales of 207 million.
But the company said despite falling demand for personal navigation devices, sales of sports products and fleet management data products were growing and maintained its full-year forecast for sales of 1 billion euros and earnings per share of 0.20 euros.
TomTom's shares were up 3 percent at 7.97 euros by 0840 GMT, taking the price gain this year up by more than 41 percent, first on major orders from Volkswagen and more recently on media reports that Nokia might be planning to sell its rival mapping business HERE.
Analysts believe TomTom could benefit from a sale of HERE, depending on the buyer, if it leaves the Dutch company as the only remaining independent player in the digital mapping business.