Coming off its strongest year ever, PowerSecure International got off to a shaky start in 2012 with a solid growth in sales but a net loss overall, prompting a cost-cutting strategy to curb operating expenses.
The Wake Forest energy services company has been in a hiring binge in the past year and ballooned to more than 500 employees, including 187 in multiple locations in North Carolina as of last count.
But PowerSecure's prospects appear strong, with a strong balance sheet, healthy product orders in the pipeline and a business model that's generally praised by Wall Street analysts.
CEO Sidney Hinton said in a statement the company performed well but experienced "efficiency losses" in its utility infrastructure division, the company's biggest business unit. Hinton said reduced workloads required PowerSecure to incur expenses redeploying work crews to other utilities.


SciQuest reported another quarter of solid sales growth, as the Cary company signs up more customers for its eprocurement technology.
Tekelec reported another decline in quarterly revenue this morning, but its financial results exceeded expectations of Wall Street analysts.
Duke Energy, which is buying Raleigh-based Progress Energy, reported second-quarter earnings that beat analysts’ expectations, Charlotte Observer staff writer Bruce Henderson reports.
Merck plans to slash up to 13,000 more jobs by 2015, the latest large pharmaceutical corporation seeking to offset slowing sales by cutting costs.
The maker of moissanite gemstones reported a decline in sales and profit during the second quarter.
