I'm in at 5 1/4! This is old news but I think it outlines why the stock is moving higher. The insider buying between 3-4 is also very positive:
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View Tech Reports Financial Upturn, Expansion Plans 07/29/97
Newsbytes, Tuesday, July 29, 1997 at 15:21
CAMARILLO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1997 JUL 29 (NB) -- By Jacqueline
Emigh. In a teleconference today, View Tech Inc. [NASDAQ:VUTK], a
videoconferencing distributor and sales agent for five major
phone companies, announced a financial upturn, along with plans
to unveil a company name change, a series of acquisitions, and a
service deal with a major ISP (Internet service provider) in the
near future.
During the teleconference, which was attended by Newsbytes, View
Tech Chairman of the Board Paul C. O'Brien maintained that
videoconferencing sales specialist View Tech's recent acquisition
of Boston-based USTelecenters has helped to form a sales agency
with greater breadth and technical expertise than the one or two
major competitors "in the agency space."
In addition to distributing equipment from Picturetel Corp.,
Northern Telecom, and Ascend Communications, Camarillo,
California-based View Tech currently sells networking services
via agency agreements with Sprint, GTE, Nynex, Bell Atlantic, and
Southwestern Bell, according to O'Brien.
In a return to profitability, View Tech's revenues for the second
quarter ended June 30, 1997 totaled about $12.2 million, an
increase of approximately 36 percent over the comparable period
in 1996, he reported.
The chairman of the board emphasized that these revenue figures
refer to agency commissions, so that the total amount of products
and services sold by View Tech was considerably larger.
The strong second quarter results took place despite "a slow
second quarter for Picturetel and the videoconferencing industry
in general," and also despite the costs associated with opening a
New York sales office, according to O'Brien. The New York office
will start to show profitability in July or August, he predicted.
Also during the second quarter, View Tech "tightened up
significantly on control," he said.
O'Brien told the journalists and analysts that, after retiring as
chairman of New England Telephone Company two years ago, he had
been interested in purchasing USTeleCenters.
Upon being outbid for USTeleCenters by View Tech, O'Brien then
decided to invest directly in View Tech, and was subsequently
elected chairman of the board.
"View Tech was formed as a video sales and service operation (to)
serve the burgeoning videoconferencing industry," O'Brien
asserted.
In addition to two sales offices in California, View Tech has
offices in several other parts of the US, including Denver and
Atlanta.
USTelecenters, on the other hand, was launched as a telephone
equipment company franchise, before "graduating to a full-service
provider and an agent for Bell Atlantic."
The newly merged entity is targeting mid-sized to large companies
that are in need of a full-service provider with expertise in
areas ranging from videoconferencing to telephony and networking,
O'Brien said.
View Tech's launch in New York City will be followed by new
offices in Washington, DC, and probably in Philadelphia, he
divulged.
Another deal is forthcoming with a major ISP, for improved
Internet access services for View Tech's customers, O'Brien added.
View Tech also plans to make additional acquisitions, O'Brien
said. "We are looking at (providers of) value-added networks,
(or) data networks (such as) LANs (local area networks) and WANs
(wide area networks)," he illustrated.
In conjunction with the upcoming acquisitions, View Tech will
change its name, the journalists and analysts were told.
"We want to brand ourselves as a communications solutions
provider," O'Brien contended. "The whole will be greater than the
sum of the parts. (Already), we frankly win head-to-head (over
competitors), especially where video is involved."
View Tech has already started to look at new company names, but
the process is not as easy as it may seem, because so many names
are already owned by other companies, according to the board
chairman.
"We've chased a couple (of names), and have wound up with taco
stands and rock bands," he joked.
View Tech is now seeking a new Western sales manager, and is also
open to new investors, O'Brien said.
The company plans to go on a "mini road show" this quarter, to be
followed by a "maxi road show" later this year, according to the
chairman of the board.
(19970729/Reader Contacts: ViewTech, 805-482-8277; USTeleCenters,
617-345-8101; Press Contact: Brett Leary, Rourke & Company for
ViewTech and USTelecenters, 617-267-0042 ; Reported by Newsbytes
News Network: newsbytes.com )
Companies or Securities discussed in this article:
Symbol
Name
NASDAQ:VUTK
View Tech Inc
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