LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y. — Even though the company recorded a net loss in a difficult auto environment during the first quarter, DealerTrack officials said they anticipate that the company's overall 2009 earnings performance will be better than initially expected.

More specifically, while the company still predicts a net loss for 2009, executives have lowered their original loss projection by roughly $4.1 million.

Looking at the first quarter's results, revenue was $55.7 million, down from $64.3 million a year ago.

The company's net loss for the period was $5.6 million, compared with a net income of $2.3 million during the same time frame last year.

"The first quarter of 2009 proved to be a challenging macroeconomic environment in terms of auto sales and credit availability," shared Mark O'Neil, chairman and chief executive officer of DealerTrack. "We did not see this downturn until the second half of last year, so the first quarter of 2009 is difficult to compare to the first quarter of 2008.

"That said, we continue to make targeted investments in the business. We are pleased with the acquisition of AAX, which has made us a clear leader in the strategic inventory management space," he added.

Looking forward to the 2009 full-year performance guidance, DealerTrack lowered its revenue guidance from a $242 million to $250 million range to $232 million to $238 million.

However, the company also reduced its expected net loss, which it now projects will be between $5.5 million and $7 million, compared with a range of $9.6 million to $11.1 million.

Moreover, executives reaffirmed its non-GAAP earnings expectations at $31 million to $33 million.

"We expect our DMS business to continue to grow and have experienced success with our solutions selling model," O'Neil explained. "While we have decreased revenue guidance, we have reaffirmed our non-GAAP earnings guidance because of the growth in the subscription business and the cost-containment measures we have put into place."