KVH Industries is sharpening the focus of the TracVision A7 mobil...

business to decline with national RV chains like Camping World, while it grows with independents like Lazydays RV Center in Fla. Camping World, which was a major retailer of the original TraceVision A5, accounted for less than 1% of KVH’s Q4 revenue, company officials said. KVH markets the TracVision system with the DirecTV service. The TracVision A7, which launched sales in Aug., also is being sold through CE chains like Tweeter, a spokesman said. KVH stopped making the TracVision A5 when it shipped the A7, but “scattered” amounts of inventory might remain on some retailers’ shelves, a KVH spokesman said. Tweeter was promoting the A5 at $1,998, down from its original $3,499 price. The A7 added several features including the ability to receive local channels, a “whisper quiet” motor and integrated GPS. “We've been in the process of refocusing our RV business for the last 12 months so it won’t have any impact on revenue other than being positive,” CEO Martin Kits van Heyningen said. KVH sells TracVision A7 direct to “several hundred” RV retailers and reaches others through distributors including River Park Inc. and Stag- Parkway. Meanwhile, KVH is working closely with DirecTV in trying to secure design wins with auto manufacturers for embedded systems, company officials said. “They're attending meetings with us at the highest levels and seem to be serious about pushing this,” van Heyningen said. A KVH spokesman declined to comment on the status of talks with auto manufacturers, but noted that motor vehicle designs are typically a 2-3-year process. KVH has sold the TracVision system through Cadillac dealers as an option. KVH reported Q4 net income declined to $108,000 from $1 million a year earlier as revenue declined to $17.4 million from $17.8 million amid a “soft” market for marine products and a 30% decline in the company’s defense business, company officials said. Mobile communications revenue rose 19% to $12.1 million, while that from defense products declined 30% to $5.3 million. KVH’s land-based satellite systems posted 34% growth in Q4 revenue, while the marine business was hampered by high gas prices that cut into sales of smaller boats, a company spokesman said. Brunswick, parent company of Sea Ray boats, closed plants in Md. and Canada in Nov. amid a slumping market. In the defense segment, KVH’s Tactical navigation business recorded a 60% declined in Q4 revenue as contract issues were resolved with a customer. An order for KVH’s fiber optic gyro system also was postponed by a customer until this year to allow for additional testing, a spokesman said. The downturn in defense revenue was driven “by the lumpy nature of the military navigation business, which can come in spurts,” CFO Patrick Spratt said. The tactical navigation business is expected to “step up” in Q2 and be “more significant” in Q3 and Q4, Spratt said.