MRVC: straight from the horse mouth -- news released part ONE
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MRV Announces Second-Quarter
Results and the Acquisition of AstroTerra Corp.
Unification of Optical Wireless Activities to Take Place
Under Newly Formed Optical Access Inc.
CHATSWORTH, Calif.--July 27, 2000--MRV Communications Inc.
(Nasdaq:MRVC) today announced closing the acquisition of AstroTerra
Corp., a pioneer in the development of free-space optical wireless
technology.
This acquisition, together with the acquisition of JOLT, announced
earlier this year, propels Optical Access Inc. into a premier position
as the leading supplier of optical wireless solutions.
Newly formed Optical Access Inc. develops, manufactures and
markets optical wireless systems that enable a fundamental shift in
the design of the access network. The company's products create an
unconstrained optically meshed networks with intelligent switching,
provisioning and aggregation Features.
Together with its WDM fiber solutions, Optical Access eliminates
the bottleneck between the user's premises and the backbone network.
This allows a provider to bypass the incumbent carrier's copper access
network, to quickly and cost-effectively establish enhanced high-speed
broadband services.
The Optical Access solutions enable faster deployment and
increased bandwidth over competing solutions. The company's switched
meshed architecture and redundant features provide service
availability in all weather conditions.
AstroTerra was founded in 1992 and quickly established itself as
the recognized leader in the high-speed optical wireless
communications field. The company's strong intellectual property
includes patented technology that uses multiple transmit apertures to
avoid atmospheric scintillation fade. This allows wireless optical
transmission up to 5 kilometers.
In partnership with Lucent Technologies, AstroTerra was the first
to demonstrate a working laser communication system capable of
transferring data at rates of 2.5 Gbps over a range of 2.4 kilometers.
AstroTerra's new TerraLink Fusion systems combine an optical
communication link with an automatic radio frequency back-up to
provide 100 percent wireless availability, even in the worst weather
conditions.
AstroTerra has shown great success in developing high-speed
satellite laser communications technology, most notably with the
Ballistic Missile Defense Organization and U.S. Army Space and Missile
Defense Command.
The Space Technology Research Vehicle -2 (STRV-2) is the first
satellite-to-ground experiment capable of transmitting information at
Gigabit speeds over a distance of two thousand kilometers.
Dr. Eric Korevaar, president of AstroTerra, commented: "We are
very excited to join forces with an innovative, forward-thinking
company like MRV Communications. Combining our expertise in optical
wireless technology with the comprehensive solution that Optical
Access offers represents a strong step forward in bringing ultra
high-speed wireless solutions to the last-mile telecommunications
arena."
Noam Lotan, president and chief executive officer of MRV,
commented: "Acquiring AstroTerra Corp. establishes Optical Access as
the leader in optical wireless technology. This technology is poised
to make a strong impact on the last mile broadband access. Wireless
access is cheaper and faster to install than fiber and can deliver the
high bandwidth that users require.
"With our robust product line, the experience of thousands of
optical wireless installations, and substantial ownership of
intellectual property, MRV stands to capitalize on the emerging
opportunities in this field. We intend to file for an Initial Public
Offering of Optical Access within 90 days."
Separately, MRV announced closing the acquisitions of Optronics
International Corp. ("OIC") and Quantum Optech Inc. ("QOI"), now part
of Luminent Inc.
Organizational Changes in Management
The following changes took place in the management of Luminent.
Dr. William R. Spivey, former president of the Network Products group
of Lucent Technologies, was appointed president, chief executive
officer and director of Luminent.
Eric Blachno, former managing director of Research and a financial
analyst for PMG, was appointed vice president of Finance and chief
financial officer of Luminent.
Khalid (Ken) Ahmad resigned his position as general manager of
Luminent and in so doing, is no longer an officer at MRV.
Dr. Mark Heimbuch was appointed vice president and chief
technology officer of Luminent.
In addition, Dan Avida, former chairman and CEO of Electronics for
Imaging, Richard S. Hill, chairman and CEO of Novellus Systems and
Amos Wilnai, chairman of MMC Networks, joined the newly formed board
of directors of Luminent.
The following changes in management took place at MRV and its
subsidiaries. At iTouch Communications, Philippe Szwarc was appointed
CEO, Mary Jane Gruninger was appointed executive vice president of
Research and Development and Engineering and Francois-Henri Worm,
founder of CES, was appointed chief technology officer. Ofer Iny, vice
president of Engineering at Zuma Networks, is no longer an officer of
MRV. In addition, Guy Avidan will head Optical Access Inc.
Financials
Revenues for the quarter were $73,935,000, up from $73,251,000 in
the second quarter of 1999. Including non-recurring charges, net loss
for the second quarter of 2000, was $27,750,000 compared with net
income of $525,000 in the quarter ended June 30, 1999.
Including non-recurring charges, basic and diluted loss per share
for the second quarter of 2000 were 44 cents compared with basic and
diluted earnings per share of 1 cent in the second quarter of 1999.
Excluding non-recurring charges, basic and diluted earnings per share
for the second quarter of 2000 were 2 cents, compared with basic
earnings per share of 8 cents and diluted earnings per share of 7
cents in the second quarter of 1999.
Revenues for the six months ended June 30, 2000, were
$139,007,000, compared with $143,367,000 for the corresponding
six-month period in 1999. Including non-recurring charges, net loss
for the six months ended June 30, 2000, was $33,614,000 compared with
a net loss of $384,000 for the corresponding period in 1999.
Excluding non-recurring charges, net income for the six months
ended June 30, 2000 was $1,502,000, compared with net income of
$6,488,000 for the corresponding period in 1999. Including
non-recurring charges, basic and diluted losses per share for the six
months ended June 30, 2000, were 56 cents compared with basic and
diluted losses per share of 1 cent, for the six months ended June 30,
1999.
Excluding non-recurring charges, basic earnings per share were 3
cents and diluted earnings per share were 2 cents for the six months
ended June 30, 2000, compared with basic and diluted earnings per
share of 12 cents, for the six months ended June 30, 1999.
All historical amounts reflected in these financial results have
been adjusted for the two-for-one stock split that took place in May
2000. |
