NEWARK, NY -- IEC Electronics reported a fiscal first-quarter net loss of $1.1 million, down from a loss of $101,000 a year ago.

For the period ended Dec. 27, the EMS company reported revenue of $32.1 million, down 2.7% from the previous year. The current results included restatement and related expenses of $1.2 million.

In a press release, chairman and CEO Barry Gilbert said, "Our revenues were down slightly. One of our medical customers is on FDA hold and some of our industrial customers are predicting sales will be flat or possibly down this year as compared to last year. These shifts create mix changes."

Despite ongoing problems at its Southern California Braiding unit, IEC remains bullish on the defense end-market. "Our operations in the western half of the United States, which primarily support our military and aerospace customers, were down slightly as compared to the first quarter of the previous year," Gilbert said. "Even though we have important long-term agreements in place, we do not have release dates for some of this work. Importantly, these programs appear to be relatively insensitive to Congressional budget and debt reduction issues and we continue to see healthy long-term demand from our military and aerospace customers."