Fiscal Q1 weak for Tweeter
Income drops 94% as competitors slash prices on TV sets
By Susanne Ault -- Video Business, 2/6/2007
FEB. 6 | Due to aggressive TV set merchandising from rivals, Tweeter Home Entertainment Group posted weaker earnings for its first-quarter fiscal 2007.
Tweeter recorded $874,000 in net income for the three months ended Dec. 31. That marks a 94% drop from the same period last year.
Total sales fell 12% to $234 million.
The electronics specialist is credited for helping drive initial high-definition HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc players as it pushes high-def TV sets to its early adopter consumer base.
“Our first-quarter earnings were defined by the intense competition in the TV category,” said Joe McGuire, Tweeter president and CEO. “We sold 33% fewer projection TV sets and experienced a 17% decline in their average selling price. Although we sold more sets in the on-wall category, those average selling prices were down 24%.”
On a conference call with analysts Tuesday, McGuire was optimistic that TV pricing would soon start to stabilize. Large and small retailers have been slashing prices for the last several months, including the holiday period and the run-up to the Superbowl.
Tweeter officials did not detail results for Blu-ray or HD DVD products.
