NEWS RELEASE TRANSMITTED BY CANADIAN CORPORATE NEWS
FOR: EICON TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION
ME, TSE SYMBOL: EIC
AUGUST 23, 1999
Eicon Technology Announces Fourth Quarter and Year-End
Results: Fourth Quarter Record Sales Reach $50.1 Million
- Up 65% From Last Year
MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA--Eicon Technology, a global leader in
remote access connectivity, today reported revenue of $176.4
million for the year ended June 30, 1999. This represents a 47
percent increase from $120.0 million reported a year ago. Net
income increased 56 percent to $10.3 million, or $0.31 a share
($0.30 a share fully diluted), from $6.6 million, or $0.20 a share
fully diluted, reported in 1998.
Revenue for the fourth quarter increased 65 percent to $50.1
million from $30.4 million a year ago. Net income for the quarter
was $3.3 million, or $0.10 a share ($0.09 a share fully diluted)
compared to $1.6 million, or $0.05 a share fully diluted, for the
same period last year.
Strong sales growth was reported in all regions in 1999, including
the United States, where sales increased 44 percent over last
year. The total U.S. market is expected to grow as demand for
ADSL high-speed products for Internet access is increasing
dramatically. Eicon's DIVA ADSL+V.90 PCI card, which will start
shipping during fiscal 2000, provides a powerful entry point into
the emerging ADSL market.
"Eicon made tremendous progress this past year," said Peter
Brojde, President and Chief Executive Officer. "Sales records
were achieved every quarter, our product offering continued to
expand and the acquisition of Trisignal Communications
strengthened our technology base and added to our revenues. As we
enter this fiscal year, we are confident that our strong growth
will continue."
Sales of ISDN remote access products increased 95 percent
year-over-year to $97.9 million in 1999. A market leader in the
ISDN market, Eicon is ranked as the #1 ISDN Customer Premises
Equipment supplier in eight European countries according to
independent research conducted by Dataquest, which has estimated
that Eicon's European market share increased from 9.6 percent to
16.3 percent during calendar year 1998.
Sales to OEMs and telcos were $72.3 million, up 94 percent from
1998 and represent 41 percent of total sales. The Company will
continue to focus on the OEM and telco markets by developing new
business partnerships worldwide as well as by offering new
high-speed remote access products for the Internet and corporate
networks.
Growth in the WAN product line was also strong, reaffirming
Eicon's position as a leading global vendor of X.25 interface
cards. WAN sales increased by 27 percent year-over-year to $62.3
million and sales in the fourth quarter were $17.9 million, up 68
percent from the same period last year.
About Eicon Technology
Eicon Technology Corporation is a worldwide provider of remote
access products for personal computers. The Company develops,
markets and supports hardware and software products for connecting
network servers and desktop and notebook PCs to corporate
networks, host computers and the Internet. Its products are sold
in more than 80 countries through an extensive distribution
network and to original equipment manufacturers. Eicon Technology
shares are traded on The Toronto Stock Exchange and the Montreal
Exchange under the symbol EIC. Look for us on the Internet. News
releases, conference calls, financial statements and a lot more
can be found at www.eicon.com.
Investors Conference Call
Eicon Technology management will be conducting an investor
conference call on Monday, August 23, 1999, at 11:00 a.m., EDT.
Interested parties may listen to the conference call live over the
Internet at www.eicon.com/eic or www.Q1234.com. The recording
will also be available for 60 days. |
