TORONTO – EMS provider SMTC Corp. reported 2008 fourth-quarter revenue of $61.1 million, up 1.6% sequentially and down 8.5% year-over-year.

The net loss for the quarter of $100,000 was down from a net profit of $100,000 sequentially and down from $900,000 for the comparable period in 2007.

However, in the quarter, the company, the world's 45th largest EMS firm according to the Circuits Assembly Top 50, reduced net debt to an all-time low of $16 million.

Gross profit for the fourth quarter was $3.8 million, or 6.2% of revenue, compared with $4.8 million or 8% for the previous quarter, and $6.4 million or 9.6% for the fourth quarter of 2007.

Fourth-quarter results were heavily impacted by considerably lower revenue in the firm’s enclosures systems division, SMTC says. This created significant excess capacity at SMTC’s larger enclosures facility in Franklin, MA.

The firm did not provide specific financial guidance for 2009 because of economic uncertainty as a whole.