By Mike Boyer
Enquirer staff writer

BLUE ASH - LSI Industries Inc. on Thursday reported lower fourth-quarter earnings largely due to an inventory write-down at its Lightron fluorescent lighting unit.

The lighting and graphics supplier, which cut its earnings forecast last week, said net income for the three months ended June 30 declined to $1.2 million, or 6 cents a share, from $2.4 million, or 12 cents a share, a year ago. Quarterly revenues rose 20 percent to $66.7 million from $55.6 million a year ago.

For the year, LSI said, net income was $8.7 million, or 43 cents a share, on revenues of $241.4 million. In the prior year, the company reported a net loss of $10.8 million, or 54 cents a share, after an accounting change for goodwill impairment. Excluding the noncash accounting change last year, the company reported net income of $7.8 million, or 39 cents a share, on revenues of $213 million.

CEO Bob Ready said the company has made changes in management at its New Windsor, N.Y., Lightron unit, which was unprofitable last year. The fourth-quarter inventory write-down amounted to about $2 million, or 7 cents a share.

"Our goal is to see Lightron swing from operating losses to profits during the first half of fiscal 2005 and record a profit for the full year,'' he said.

In the fourth quarter, LSI said, lighting segment sales rose 24 percent to $47.2 million and graphics segment sales rose 12 percent to $19.5 million. Sales to the petroleum/convenience-store market, the company's largest, declined in the fourth-quarter to 22 percent of total sales, down from 25 percent a year ago.

The company, which is attempting to diversify to reduce its reliance on the petroleum/convenience-store market, said that market was essentially flat last year and margins were reduced by higher costs, particularly for steel.

Ready said the company has no plans to buy back shares, which fell 6 cents Thursday to close at $8.49.

E-mail mboyer@enquirer.com