WAKE FOREST - PowerSecure International's stock plummeted 13 percent Friday, a day after the company released first-quarter earnings that disappointed investors with weak growth projections and higher-than expected operating expenses.

The company, which moved its headquarters from Colorado to Wake Forest last summer, sells and installs emergency backup power generators for Publix supermarkets and other large customers.

PowerSecure said its first-quarter sales rose by 32 percent to $33.6 million, but earnings fell 15 percent to 11 cents per share as operating costs increased. The earnings fell below analysts' average expectation of 13 cents a share.

PowerSecure released first-quarter results after the close of market trading Thursday. On Friday, its shares fell $1.58 to $10.10, a 52-week low.

PowerSecure is trying to add new customers and reduce its reliance on revenue from Publix. The company will have sold about 700 diesel generators to the Publix chain by the end of this year, marking the completion of the project.

But analysts said PowerSecure still has not signed enough contracts to replace the Publix revenue with new business. The company's backlog of orders has slipped to about $85 million this quarter from about $100 million a year ago.

PowerSecure executives warned that customers are likely to delay future orders during an economic downturn.

But PowerSecure CEO Sidney Hinton assured analysts Thursday that the company hired five sales representatives in the first quarter, describing the new hires as "rainmakers."

The company has also hired a full-time business development officer to help explore a possible expansion into the international market.

PowerSecure employs 378 people in the United States, up from 315 a year ago. About half the company's employees work in Raleigh and Wake Forest. The others work throughout the Southeast in sales and installation.

Get $150+ in coupons in every Sunday N&O. Click here for convenient home delivery.