Daktronics announced fiscal 2021 first quarter results. The company registered net sales of US$143.6 million, operating income of $9.5 million, and net income of $7.5 million, and earnings per diluted share of $0.17.

Net sales decreased by 20.3% in the first quarter of fiscal 2021 as compared to the first quarter of fiscal 2020. Net sales decreased in all business units. The change in sales primarily relates to fluctuations and related conversion to sales. Some shipping and on-site delays continue to be caused by COVID-19 related work restrictions or customer delays in readiness for their applications.

(Image: Daktronics)

Gross profit was 24.9% for the first quarter of fiscal 2021 as compared to 25.2% with the same period last year. Operating expenses for the first quarter of fiscal 2021 were $26.2 million, compared to $37.9 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2020, or a decrease of 30.8%.

Reece Kurtenbach, chairman, president and CEO stated, "During the first quarter of fiscal 2021, our customers reduced their spend on audio-visual systems as they worked through the economic and business implications of COVID-19. We took corresponding action to reduce our operating expenses to align with expected order and sales declines. These actions along with reduced investments in capital assets and suspension of dividends and share repurchases helped us maintain stability in liquidity and our cash position."

Kurtenbach added, "We believe the audio-visual industry fundamentals will drive long-term growth for our business, but the near-term outlook shows contraction and greater volatility overall. We expect our customers will continue to have disruptions in revenues caused by COVID-19 throughout the current fiscal year. We are focused on promoting our value to new and existing markets, while managing our cost structure to meet the uncertain demand."