9 cent EPS vs. loss a year ago.
Active Voice Corporation Announces Record Revenues for the Quarter Ended December 31, 1999 and 2-for-1 Stock Split
PR Newswire - January 27, 2000 16:15
SEATTLE, Jan. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Active Voice Corporation (Nasdaq: ACVC), a global provider of unified messaging and computer telephony software solutions, today announced record revenues for its third fiscal quarter ended December 31, 1999. Additionally, the Company's Board of Directors has approved a two-for-one stock split of its common stock subject to shareholder approval.
Revenues for the quarter were a record $22.2 million, as compared to $16.6 million for the same quarter in 1998, an increase of 33%. Excluding non-recurring charges described below, net income for the quarter was $490,000 or $0.09 per share on a fully diluted basis, as compared to a net loss of $1.5 million or $0.32 loss per share for the quarter ended December 31, 1998.
"We saw strong year-over-year revenue growth in our products across all channels, especially in our North American dealer channel. Sales generated from our flagship unified messaging product, Unity, more than doubled from the September quarter," said Jose S. David, Active Voice's chief financial officer. "Gross margins and expenses were in line with management's expectations," added David.
"We are pleased to have exceeded consensus expectations of operating income," said Frank J. Costa, Active Voice's president and chief executive officer. "Our decision to take the long road and build a 'true' unified messaging solution from the ground up continues to pay off. Our unified messaging agreement with Cisco is an example of the benefit of being a technological leader in the convergence of voice and data networks. Under the agreement the two companies will cooperate to ensure that, IP-ready Unity and Cisco's CallManager, call processing software and related Cisco AVVID solutions, will continue to deliver a well-integrated communications solution to our respective customers. The agreement also establishes a business relationship that provides for cross training and other mutually beneficial sales, support and marketing activities," added Costa.
Non recurring charge
In October 1999, the Company signed a non-exclusive cross licensing agreement with Lucent Technologies Inc. The five-year agreement releases both companies from past licensing obligations and licenses each company under the other's patent portfolio for their respective areas of communications technology. As a result of this agreement, the Company paid Lucent a one-time fee of $3 million, of which $2.5 million was attributable to prior periods and expensed in the December quarter. Including the non-recurring charge, the Company reported a net loss of $1.2 million for the quarter or $0.24 loss per share.
For the nine months ending December 31, 1999, sales were $60.9 million compared with sales of $44.3 million for the comparable prior year period, representing an increase of 37%. Year-to-date net income was $8.9 million or $1.76 per share on a fully diluted basis, as compared to a net loss of $3.8 million or $0.82 loss per share for the first nine months ending December 31, 1998.
Stock Split
The Board of Directors has declared a two-for-one split of the Company's common shares, to be effected by the issuance of one share of common stock for each share of the Company's common stock outstanding. The stock split is subject to the approval of the stockholders of the Company, who must approve an Amendment to the Company's Articles of Incorporation to increase the Company's authorized common stock in order to consummate the split. The Board has called a Special Meeting of Stockholders for March 8, 2000 at which the stockholders will be asked to approve the two-for-one split as well as an increase in the Company's authorized shares from 10,000,000 to 60,000,000. Subject to such approval, stockholders of record on March 8, 2000 will be entitled to receive one additional share of common stock for each share of the Company's common stock held on that date. The payment date for the stock split will be March 22, 2000. On or about that date, the new shares will be mailed to stockholders by the Company's transfer agent, ChaseMellon Shareholder Services. The Company expects that its outstanding Common Stock will begin to trade on a post-split basis on March 23, 2000.
About Active Voice
Founded in 1983, the Seattle-based Active Voice has offices in Australia, Canada, China, France, Sweden, The Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. With more than 85,000 systems installed in virtually every kind of business in over 60 countries, Active Voice develops technology that helps businesses communicate better. Active Voice solutions are sold through a global network of independent telecommunications dealers, telephone equipment manufacturers, and computer resellers. More information about Active Voice and its products is available at the company's Web site, www.activevoice.com.
For more information, please contact the following: Financial Investor Relations: Jose S. David, (206) 441-4700, ext. 1105, jdavid@activevoice.com; Investor Relations Coordinator: Amy Thomas, (206) 441-4700, ext. 1197, ir@activevoice.com; Public Relations: Monica Drake, (206) 441-4700, ext. 1154, pr@activevoice.com; Web Site: www.activevoice.com
NOTE: Brand and product names in this document are trademarks of their respective owners.
Certain statements in this news release (for example, statements using the expressions, "the Company expects" or "the Company anticipates" and other similar statements) contain "forward looking" information (as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) involving risks and uncertainties, including without limitation, projections for sales and expenditures, product release dates and various business environment and trend projections. Actual future results and trends may differ materially depending on a variety of factors, including, but not limited to, the risks discussed in documents filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Investors are encouraged to consider the risks detailed in those filings. The Company assumes no obligation to release publicly any changes to these "forward looking statements" that may arise from the development of unanticipated events or circumstances that occur after the date of the original projection.
Let's see. 3 good PRs in one hour. I see a gapper tomorrow.
Jack |
