Company execs say they're optimistic about its growth potential
Optical Cable shareholders upset with meeting
Legalities that prevented them from directly questioning officials frustrated stock owners.
By JEFF STURGEON
THE ROANOKE TIMES
Optical Cable Corp. executives continued efforts Tuesday to move beyond a period of management, legal and financial turmoil, telling shareholders who attended the company's annual meeting that they're upbeat about prospects for growth.
Unlike past years, shareholders were not allowed to question company officials directly. That's in spite of a historic shift in ownership of most of Optical Cable's stock from a former executive to more than 7,800 individual shareholders.
The restriction was described as a legal precaution in light of four shareholder lawsuits pending against the Roanoke County manufacturer of fiber-optic cable, executives said. About 100 people attended the meeting, which lasted a little more than a hour.
After the meeting, several shareholders said they were disappointed that lawyers screened handwritten questions from the audience and told executives which they could answer.
"I didn't get that much out of it," said shareholder Bill Tanner of Roanoke. He said he wanted specifics about whether former chief executive Bob Kopstein will become an Optical Cable consultant.
More than three months after Kopstein was fired and invited to become a consultant, he and the company have not reached an agreement. President Neil Wilkin said the company is open to having an "arrangement" with Kopstein.
Kopstein, who attended but did not address the audience, said after the meeting that he's waiting to hear from the company on his counter offer.
In keeping with previously announced plans, Kopstein was removed from the board of directors during Tuesday's meeting.
Wilkin told the meeting Kopstein made significant contributions to Optical Cable and "I believe he's a great entrepreneur." However, Wilkin said, Optical Cable was led by other talented people, all of whom are still there.
"Optical Cable is not one person and never has been. It's a group of people who are pulling together to make a difference in datacom communications," Wilkin said.
Bart Brumma said he and two fellow shareholders came from Canton, Ohio, for the meeting because they recently bought shares and wanted to question executives. They were chagrined they weren't able to.
"Little disappointed in the format," Brumma said.
T.G. Balabanis of Martinsville asked Wilkin after the meeting if Optical Cable has insurance to cover any losses that might result from the shareholder lawsuits. Balabanis was told such information wasn't available.
As a publicly held company, Optical Cable had been required to disclose details of recent difficulties previously. During the past six months, Kopstein lost much of his once-dominant portfolio of company stock through risky investments. As he turned his attention to the financial problems that resulted, the board of directors fired him because it felt he could no longer devote sufficient time to running the company.
The company went on, for other reasons, to post its first annual loss. Optical Cable recently settled a race and sex discrimination lawsuit for $925,000. Its stock price fell to 66 cents Feb. 28, down from $14.25 last April. The shares closed Tuesday at $1.07.
At Tuesday's meeting, Optical Cable announced it earned $604,000, or a penny a share, on sales of $11.4 million during its first quarter ended Jan. 31. By comparison, the company lost $115,000 on sales of $17 million during the same period a year ago.
Wilkin declined to give any specific financial forecast, citing uncertainty about the national economy. "There's good opportunity for the company to grow," said Ken Harber, vice president of finance, in an interview before the meeting.
One industry survey found that sales of the type of product Optical Cable makes will grow at 20 percent a year. The company's factory can produce more cable because it's running about half-tilt, company officials said.
Wilkin said he isn't concerned that a major distributor of Optical Cable products filed bankruptcy in January 2001 and another major distributor, Graybar Electric Co., dropped Optical Cable products Nov. 1. Customers who want the products still will be able to get them, Wilkin said.
The company is exploring unspecified opportunities in China, but sees no need to build a plant there at this time, Wilkin said. |
