Aladdin Knowledge Systems Reports Record 2003 Fourth Quarter / Full-Year Results and Provides 2004 Q1 Guidance:
Company Achieves 13% Revenue Growth Over Q4 2002 and $2.73 Million in 2003 Net Income
NEW YORK and TEL AVIV, Israel, Jan. 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Aladdin Knowledge Systems (Nasdaq: ALDN - News) today announced financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2003. Revenues for the fourth quarter were $15.09 million, a 13% increase over revenues of $13.40 million for the fourth quarter of 2002. The fourth quarter resulted in a net income of $1.18 million, or $0.10 per basic and diluted share, compared with a net loss of $(3.11) million, or $(0.28) per basic and diluted share for the fourth quarter of 2002.
For the year, revenues were $54.72 million, an increase of 11% compared with revenues of $49.52 million for 2002. Net income for the year was $2.73 million, or $0.24 per basic and $0.23 per diluted share, as compared with a net loss of $(0.59) per basic and diluted share for 2002.
Yanki Margalit, Chairman and CEO of Aladdin Knowledge Systems said, "The fourth quarter of 2003 ended the year with record-setting sales and increased profitability, resulting from worldwide growth across all product lines. Q4 2003 Software Digital Rights Management (DRM) sales were $11.63 million, an increase of 8% over Q4 2002. Enterprise Security Sales reached $3.45 million, an increase of 31% over Q4 2002."
"We are extremely pleased to continue an upward trend of profitability, revenue growth, and increased cash flow while also expanding operations deeper into the Asia Pacific region and enlarging our worldwide network of resellers and distributors. Positive growth trends in the Software DRM market and Internet security support our optimism for growth and profitability in 2004."
Q4 Financial Highlights
* Operating Results: Aladdin posted its second consecutive quarter of sequential revenue growth and represents its fourth consecutive year of revenue growth.
* Cash Flow: As of December 31, 2003, Aladdin had $19.5 million in cash and marketable securities. Cash flow from Operating activities in Q4 2003 was approximately $2.5 million and totaled $5.7 million for all of 2003.
* Profitability: Q4 2003 was the fourth sequential quarter with increased profitability.
2003 Product Highlights
-- Software Security (DRM)
* HASP(R) DocSeal released, a new digital document protection system that allows individuals to access confidential information or other intellectual property (IP).
* Privilege(TM) 6.0 released, allowing software developers and retailers to distribute secure software via CD, Electronic Software Distribution (ESD) or peer-to-peer networks with highly flexible licensing/marketing options.
* Approximately 2000 new software vendors chose HASP as their software protection system.
-- eSafe(R) Integrated Proactive Content Security Solution
* PC Magazine named eSafe Appliance one of the "Best Products of 2002" in its January 2003 cover story.
* eSafe experienced substantial increase in sales throughout all regions, more than doubling the number of customers with 2000 seats or more.
* New advanced anti-spam service launched within eSafe to provide state-of-the-art protection featuring text classification, hash signature data and heuristic text analysis. Over 1 Million users are protected with the new Advanced anti-spam service.
* More than 50 global banks and financial institutions are protected with eSafe today.
-- eToken(TM) User Authentication Solution
* Aladdin eToken received "Best Encryption Solution" Award at SC Magazine's annual award ceremony in London.
* The Token Management System (TMS) released, simplifying deployment and maintenance of multiple authentication devices while significantly streamlining the implementation process of multiple, non-integrated solutions.
* The eToken PRO USB authentication device earned FIPS (Federal Information Processing Standards) 140-1 Level 2 and 3 physical protection certification from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
Future Business Outlook
As of Q1 2004, Aladdin management will provide a business outlook on a quarterly basis. Aladdin undertakes no obligation to update its estimates. Based on current business activities and general economic conditions, Aladdin management believes sales for Q1 2004 will be in the area of $14.4 million to $14.9 million and Earnings Per Share are expected to be in the range of $0.08 to $0.10. For comparison, the Company reported $13.1 million in revenue and $0.03 per share in Q1, 2003. |
