CEO: Sorry for $745K loss

SARASOTA — The new CEO at Sunovia Energy Technologies took the somewhat unusual step of apologizing to shareholders over the company's poor financial performance — which includes a quarterly loss of $744,596.

The letter was published late Tuesday on Sunovia's website, in conjunction with the firm's quarterly earnings report. The company, which sells a line of LED lights, actually improved its quarterly loss rate year-over-year by $654,381 in the period, which ended March 31. It reported a net loss of $1.39 million in the same quarter last year.

Revenues, meanwhile, for the quarter fell 18%, from $752,833 last year to $611,228 in 2012. “I believe it is important for me to inform every investor and shareholder that the performance reported today is not acceptable and to let you know that I have already taken action in many areas to ensure that the second half of the year performance far exceeds the first half,” CEO Mel Interiano wrote in the letter.

Added Interiano: “My experiences have taught me that it is critical to inspect rather than to expect. I have inspected Sunovia, and the ingredients for success are here. Sunovia's technology and products are world class, and the board of directors and founders are completely committed to the company's success. With respect to the 18% drop in revenues for the quarter ended March 31, this was the result of the company's inability to raise capital, the lack of support to internal and external sales representatives and our inability to maintain component inventories that would allow us to grow.”

In the letter Interiano, hired in March, listed some steps the company has already taken to “stabilize and grow” its distribution, manufacturing and product development units. Those steps include:
• Secured $5 million in financing to increase manufacturing capacities to a minimum of 10,000 units per month by the end of 2012;
• Hired industry experts to complete the engineering and development of a “next generation” of Aimed Optics fixtures;
• Renegotiated key supplier agreements in order to further reduce the costs.

Interiano is Sunovia's third CEO since August 2010. He was previously a sales manager and business development executive at Orsam Sylvania, a light bulb and light materials company. Sunovia abandoned a solar lighting strategy in 2010, though the business model cost the company $70 million in losses over four years. Sunovia is publicly traded (symbol: SUNV).

Interiano's full letter can be found here.