SHENZHEN -- Nam Tai Electronics reported a first-quarter net loss of $3.6 million, down from net income of $2 million last year, as the EMS company worked to shed its money-losing liquid crystal display panel production.

Net sales for the quarter ended March 31 were $94.1 million, down 33.9% the same quarter 2011. Gross profit was $3.1 million, down 45.3%. Gross profit margin slipped 60 basis points to 3.3%, driven by the discontinuation of lower-margin, lower-volume product lines and startup costs related to new smartphone programs.

The first quarters of 2012 and 2011 exclude net sales of $11.5 million and $19.5 million, respectively, of the company's discontinued product business of LCD panels. Nam Tai reported an operating loss related to the discontinued operations of $3.5 million and income of $1.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2012 and March 31, 2011, respectively.

The company's overall operating loss of $2.9 million in the quarter, compared with an operating loss of $900,000 in the first quarter of 2011.

The contract electronics assembler, which ranked in the top 25 in the recent CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY Top 50, said its site-expansion projects in Shenzhen and Wuxi should begin in the coming year.