Acxiom sustains 1Q loss of $1.3M

That’s down from $4M profit in ’16

Acxiom Corp. lost $1.3 million in its first quarter that ended June 30, the Conway-based data broker said Thursday.

That is compared with a net income of about $4 million in its first quarter last year.

Acxiom lost 2 cents per share for the quarter but had operating income — income before taxes and certain other expenses — of 14 cents a share, matching projections of six analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters. Acxiom earned 5 cents a share in the first quarter last year.

The company had revenue of $212.5 million in the quarter, compared with $214.8 million in the first quarter last year.

Acxiom had to back off earlier projections it made for two of its operating divisions, the marketing-services and audience-solutions segments, said Scott Howe, Acxiom’s chief executive officer.

The company maintains the earnings projections it provided earlier for those segments for 2018, Acxiom’s current fiscal year.

But the company now realizes that projections were too aggressive, Howe said.

In marketing services, the timing for contracts will be slower than Acxi-

● om originally forecast, Howe said. Marketing services is Acxiom’s largest segment.

In audience solutions, which reconciles data points to individuals and sells data sets to marketers, the impact of pricing-model changes will slow growth in later quarters this year, Howe said.

Bob Williams, senior vice president and managing director of Simmons First Investment Group Inc. in Little Rock, said, “It’s concerning to hear that they’ve lowered guidance.”

Projections for Acxiom’s third business segment, Connectivity, were correct, Howe said. Connectivity is Acxiom’s newest segment, involving online data services.

Acxiom reached a new international partnership with Google Customer Match, which resulted in new business with Samsung and London’s Heathrow Airport, said Warren Jenson, Acxiom’s chief financial officer.

Acxiom also signed partnerships with social media websites Pinterest and LinkedIn that will enhance the targeting of people on their sites, the company said.

Acxiom was awarded five new patents recently for data processing and management technology, the company said.

Acxiom shares fell 7 cents to close Thursday at $26.77. The earnings report was released after U.S. markets closed.