Diebold Shares Plunge On Lowered Sales Guidance

Diebold Nixdorf shares plunged 23 percent on Wednesday, hit by reduced revenue guidance that spooked investors.

The ATM and financial services company saw shares slip by $6.40 to end at $21.90. The firm said it is likely to lose $1.45 to $1.65 earnings per share, according to a release, and full-year revenue is expected in the range of $4.7 billion to $4.8 billion.

An earlier loss noted in May was projected at $0.65 to $0.95 a share on sales of $5 billion.

Diebold stated that a shift in timing of certain orders was to blame for the recent shortfall, as its projects tied to banking business come marked by complexity and longer lead times to completion.

“As previously disclosed, the company’s banking business is increasingly made up of large, complex projects with higher software content, resulting in a longer customer decision-making process and order-to-revenue conversion cycle,” the press release noted. “As a result, the timing and volume of orders to date leads the company to adjust its 2017 guidance.”

Additionally, delays in systems rollouts have negatively impacted the Diebold’s offerings. Volume changes, as well as hiring and training new staff, also impact the services business.

“Clearly, we are disappointed in our near-term financial performance,” said Andy W. Matters, chief revenue officer and president at Diebold. “That said, we continue to improve our operating expenses from the prior year and are taking steps to further accelerate our cost reductions.”

In addition to seeking financial guidance, the company said it is looking to boost savings, increasing its target from $200 million to $240 million as part of its DN2020 initiative. The initiative aims to bring revenues to $5.5 billion by the year 2020.

Separately, the company said it has sold U.K.-based legacy operations to banking retail support services provider Cennox Group to meet requirements set by regulators. That action allows for financial and ATM ops integration between Diebold and Wincor Nixdorf into the merged company created last year.