Europe slows down Aastra

Article Excerpt

AASTRA TECHNOLOGIES $19.95 (Toronto symbol AAH; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (905-760-4200; www.aastra.com; Shares outstanding: 14.1 million; Market cap: $280.8 million; Dividend yield: 4.0%) reports that its sales fell 4.9%, in the three months ended March 31, 2011, to $162.7 million from $171.1 million a year earlier. Earnings fell sharply, to $0.01 a share from $0.29 a share a year earlier. The earnings decline resulted from foreign exchange losses of $1.9 million in the latest quarter. In addition, the company recorded a one-time gain of $2.7 million a year earlier. Aastra gets three quarters of its sales from Europe. It needs a sustained recovery there to show significantly higher sales and earnings. The company holds cash of $83.3 million, or $5.91 a share. The stock trades at a low 8.4 times the $2.38 a share that Aastra should earn in 2011. It yields a high 4.0%. Aastra is a buy for aggressive investors. investors…