diff --git a/src/FontLib/BinaryStream.php b/src/FontLib/BinaryStream.php
index cc5e72c..cb2d846 100644
--- a/src/FontLib/BinaryStream.php
+++ b/src/FontLib/BinaryStream.php
@@ -158,7 +158,13 @@ public function write($data, $length = null) {
   }
 
   public function readUInt8() {
-    return ord($this->read(1));
+    $uint8 = $this->read(1);
+
+    if ($uint8 === '') {
+      $uint8 = '0';
+    }
+
+    return ord($uint8);
   }
 
   public function readUInt8Many($count) {