Technology firm preps for growth in sales force
Lake Mary tech company Faro Technologies plans to continue to expand its sales force in an effort to maintain momentum it has built during the last two years, company officials said Wednesday.
However, early expenses related to that move, including hiring trainers and early investment in new salespeople, made for a lessthan-stellar quarter.
Company officials on Wednesday reported a quarterly loss of more than $3.6 million, sending its stock tumbling by more than 10 percent when markets opened Wednesday.
In follow-up trading, however, the stock rebounded, as the company explained where that loss came from, chief financial officer Bob Seidel said.
“On the face of our financial statements, we were certainly below Wall Street estimates,” he told the Orlando Sentinel. “But later, they heard our message, and we talked to more people. They understood we had a backlog on our products and they understood our clear pathway to start growing our sales headcount.”
Seidel says it’s the strongest hiring push he has seen since coming onboard in 2014.
The company, which moved to Florida from Quebec in 1992, has been building tools that help in the science known as “metrology” since 1984.
Faro employs roughly 1,500 people worldwide, with 262 people based out of its 46,500-square-foot headquarters in Lake Mary.
The company has 627 salespeople worldwide and expects to add 20 more by year’s end.
Some of those could be in Lake Mary, Seidel said.
CEO Simon Raab echoed Seidel’s comments during a conference call reporting the earnings.
“It will take time to realize the effects” of the sales force growth, he said.
The stock, which closed at $39.20 per share Tuesday, dipped to $35.05 by 9:45 a.m. Wednesday, before rebounding to close at $37.05 per share.
The company’s stock has had its share of ups and down since it went public in 1997. It reached a peak of about $63 a share in late 2014, but by the start of this year, it had fallen to $25.67 per share.
Faro specializes in software and 3D-based laser-beam measuring devices for use in manufacturing and other industries.
During the second quarter, officials say the company sold its 10,000th laser scanner.
“We have hired key people in the office who have come in and done a fantastic job of outlining the on-boarding process,” he said. “We have put a focus on this at every level. We are taking an aggressive approach on this.”