ECN Capital Corp shares sank 17% to $2.73 on Thursday after the provider of business services to North American financial institutions reported fourth-quarter adjusted earnings that fell short of expectations.
ECN also said it has initiated a review of strategic alternatives to maximize its long-term growth and value.
“As a result of expressed interest in ECN, we initiated a Board approved review of strategic alternatives in Q1 designed to maximize long-term growth and value for shareholders,” ECN Capital CEO Steven Hudson said in a statement.
“ECN’s operating businesses continue to produce tremendous franchise value through the origination and management of unique credit assets of behalf of funding partners including lifecos, credit investors, pensions, banks and credit unions,” he added.
The company revealed that it swung to a loss of $7.9 million during the quarter from a profit of $913.3 million in the same period last year.
On an adjusted basis, ECN recorded income of $0.02 a share, missing the $0.04 forecast by analysts polled by FactSet.
Revenue for the quarter, meanwhile, rose to $52.5 million from $34.9 million a year earlier, which the company attributed to an increase in interest income and higher loan-origination revenue.
For the full year, ECN said it expects to realize adjusted earnings of between $0.18 and $0.22 a share, excluding mergers and acquisitions, compared with $0.12 in 2022.
Contact Sean at sean@proactiveinvestors.com