TEMPE, AZ – Benchmark Electronics reported fourth quarter sales of $508 million, down 22.7% year-over-year and 8.5% sequentially. The firm attributes the results to a previously announced ransomware incident.

For the fourth quarter, the company posted a net loss of $7 million, compared to net income of $28 million in the same period of 2018 and net income of $7 million in the third quarter of 2019.

Net sales for full-year 2019 were $2.3 billion, a decrease of 11.6% year-over-year. Net income of $23 million was flat with 2018.  

"As we enter 2020, we continue to see momentum in our higher-value markets: Aerospace & Defense, Medical and Semi-Cap markets are each expected to grow 10% year-over-year. With these increases, we expect the higher value markets mix to approach 80% of our revenue for the year," said president and CEO Jeff Benck.

"Additionally, we generated over $50 million of free cash flow and returned over $140 million to shareholders through share repurchases and dividends in 2019. We expect operating cash flows in 2020 to be between $70 million and $90 million and provide further opportunities to return capital to our shareholders.

"Our key strategic focus will underpin how we are creating a better Benchmark, and it all starts with our focus on the customer. We are changing the relationships with our customers by delivering incremental value through our expanded set of services and differentiated technology. We are also attracting new customers that are seeking us out based on our unique capabilities and broad solutions portfolio as they look to outsource more work to a strategic partner like Benchmark."

For the first quarter, Benchmark expects revenue between $530 million and $570 million.

Restructuring charges are expected to range between $1.5 million and $2.5 million during the period.