Whoo Hoo!
Equinox Reports Record Results, Exceeding Estimates
PR Newswire - July 15, 1999 09:45
Sales Up 37% -- EPS Up 93%
SUNRISE, Fla., July 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Equinox Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: EQNX) today reported record sales and earnings, exceeding analysts' estimates, for both the quarter and the six months ended June 30, 1999.
Sales in the second quarter increased 37% to $9,405,000 compared to sales of $6,846,000 in the same period last year. Sales in the first six months of 1999 increased to $17,689,000 compared to sales of $14,602,000 last year.
Earnings in the second quarter increased 93% to $0.29 per share (diluted) compared to earnings of $0.15 per share in the same period last year. Earnings in the first six months of 1999 increased to $0.50 per share (diluted) compared to $0.36 per share last year.
Bill Dambrackas, Equinox President and founder, commented, "Our strong sales growth is the result of broad-based demand for our products. The trend that's driving this demand is our growing design-win success rate in "replicated" systems. These systems utilize conventional low-cost servers at multiple locations for a wide variety of applications such as retail point-of- sale, airport control, process control and factory automation. Installing identical (or replicated) systems at each location greatly simplifies the system design and administration.
"In addition to our design-win success rate, the average system size has also been steadily growing. Big replicated systems are now much easier to build due to the lower cost and higher performance of servers. One new customer that recently selected our products is building a replicated system for deployment in over 6,000 worldwide locations. Design-wins such as this typically result in a continuing stream of future sales with very little support burden.
"Our Equiview management software is a very powerful tool when used with replicated systems. It provides the ability for the headquarters staff to remotely troubleshoot, manage and control every system. Any location in the world can be securely managed over any Internet connection, a private data network or a regular telephone line.
"In the first half of 1999, our mix between OEM sales and sales through resellers and VARs remained consistent with our long-term averages. OEM sales represented 38% and sales through resellers and VARs were 62% of total sales. The only OEM customer exceeding 10% of total sales in the first half of 1999 was Hewlett-Packard. Their contribution of 17% was also consistent with our long-term average.
"Lower product costs and improved operating efficiencies are driving our increased profitability. During the second quarter our gross margin increased to 55%, our operating margin increased to 24% and our net margin increased to 17%. Cash and marketable securities increased to a new high of $19.4 million.
"Looking ahead, we're excited about the future of the server-based communications market. Our design-win momentum continues to reaffirm our confidence in the competitiveness of our products and the ability of our development team to exceed customer expectations. We're continuing to invest 10% of our revenues into new product design and development with a strong focus on meeting market needs and building on our strengths."
Equinox, with headquarters in Sunrise, Florida, creates products that add high-performance computer ports to servers for Internet access and commercial connectivity. The unique combination of Equinox proprietary hardware and software removes the communications burden from server operating systems and adds powerful communications port management and remote control capabilities. The products are marketed to end-users under the Equinox brand name through a worldwide two-tier distribution channel and network of value-added resellers (VARs). Equinox also creates customized versions of its products for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), such as Hewlett-Packard and IBM, which sell and support the products worldwide under their own brand names.
Further information on Equinox is available at www.equinox.com .
Equinox Systems Inc.
Summary Consolidated Financial Information (Unaudited)
(In thousands, except earnings per share)
Three Months Ended Six Months Ended
June 30, June 30,
1999 1998 1999 1998
INCOME STATEMENT DATA:
Net sales $ 9,405 $ 6,846 $ 17,689 $ 14,602
Gross profit 5,209 3,617 9,518 7,698
Operating expenses:
Research and development 920 785 1,792 1,553
Selling, general and admin. 2,060 1,737 3,811 3,484
Income from operations 2,229 1,095 3,915 2,661
Other income 188 145 383 352
Income before income taxes 2,417 1,240 4,298 3,013
Net income 1,595 833 2,837 2,021
Weighted average shares
used in diluted computation. 5,547 5,644 5,649 5,556
EARNINGS PER SHARE:
Basic $ 0.30 $ 0.16 $ 0.53 $ 0.40
Diluted $ 0.29 $ 0.15 $ 0.50 $ 0.36
June 30,
1999
BALANCE SHEET DATA: ------
Cash and marketable securities $ 19,381
Accounts receivable 6,886
Inventories 6,104
Working capital 28,456
Total assets 37,807
Long-term debt ---
Shareholders' equity 31,777
The forward-looking statements included above are based on current
expectations, however, actual results may differ materially due to
risks and uncertainties including: changes in business or economic
conditions, competition, product shortages, and the risk factors
listed in the reports that Equinox files with the Securities and
Exchange Commission, including the Form 10-Q filed in May 1999.
Equinox Contact:
Mary Dyer, 954-746-9000 extension 481, or news@equinox.com
SOURCE Equinox Systems Inc.
/CONTACT: Mary Dyer of Equinox Systems Inc., 954-746-9000, extension 481,
or news@equinox.com /
/Web site: equinox.com /
(EQNX)
|
