Presstek reports $1.2m quarterly loss

Presstek Inc. reported a net loss of $1.2 million, or 4 cents a share, on Tuesday as financial woes continued to mount for the printing equipment company.The firm is headquartered in Greenwich, Conn., but has a substantial facility in Hudson, N.H.Presstek’s earnings drop was smaller than the $1.5 million loss it suffered during the first quarter of 2011, but revenue slipped 18 percent, to $27 million. The company said it sold more digital presses, but a larger percentage of them were refurbished, meaning lower profit margins. The company was able to prevent greater losses because of cost-reduction measures undertaken in the end of 2011.Still, Presstek managed to finish the quarter with almost as much cash and equivalents — $2.5 million – as it had at the beginning of the year, and stockholders still have $38.6 million in equity.Presstek is under a Nasdaq delisting warning because it has been unable to maintain a $1-per-share stock price. The quarterly loss didn’t help matters much.The stock lost a nickel Tuesday to close at 68 cents a share, though it did rebound on Wednesday to 72 centsOn April 17, Presstek transferred its shares from the Nasdaq Global Market to the Nasdaq Capital Market to win it another six months to comply with the listing requirement. And it asked its shareholders for permission to initiate a reverse stock split of as much as 15-1 in order to increase the share price. But it warned in its proxy that the reverse split might not do the trick.The reverse split vote is scheduled for June 12. — BOB SANDERS/NEW HAMPSHIRE BUSINESS REVIEW