Accuray sales fall short, cutting jobs

SUNNYVALE, Calif. (AP) -- Accuray Inc.'s shares shed 20 percent in after-hours trading Thursday after the radiation oncology equipment company announced plans to cut 13 percent of its staff and reported weak sales.

The Sunnyvale, Calif., company said that it expects to post a net loss of $25 million to $30 million on an adjusted basis for its fiscal second quarter. It also said it anticipates revenue in the range of $72 million to $75 million.

That is down sharply from the $106.4 million in revenue it brought in during the same quarter of the prior year. The quarterly revenue also falls short of the $93.8 million that analysts polled by FactSet were expecting.

Accuray said that revenue shortfall is due to sales-force "transitional issues," as well as manufacturing and supply problems.

The company said it will restructure its operations to improve its revenue and profitability. That includes a 13 percent reduction in staffing, cuts that will be largely focused on the U.S. As of June 30, the company had about 1,100 employees worldwide.

Accuray said the move will save approximately $40 million annually. It expects to take a charge of $3 million to $4 million in its fiscal third quarter as a result of the restructuring.

The company's new president and CEO, Joshua Levine, said the move was necessary to save money and improve the company's financial performance.

Accuray said it expects to post a loss of 87 to 95 cents per share on an adjusted basis for its 2013 fiscal year on revenue in the range of $320 million to $330 million. Analysts had forecast the company would post an adjusted loss of 55 cents per share on revenue of $406 million for the year.

Shares sank 20 percent to $5.40 in after-hours trading on the news. Its shares had gained 13 cents to close regular trading at $6.78.