I found this on an AOL Board:
NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Shares of Schmitt Industries Inc. jumped 25% Friday as the company geared up to unveil its much-hyped Dual Texture Measurement Machine, called DTM-2000, and release its first-quarter earnings.
The Portland, Ore., company, which makes laser-based measurement products and computer-controlled balancing equipment, will appear at a trade show in San Jose next week where it will introduce its new automated DTM machine.
The laser-based machine is able to check the surface smoothness of blank computer disks faster and more precisely than the traditional batch-sampling process or competing units that use calipers, said analyst Douglas Taylor of National Securities Corp.
The company hails the machine as one that will be able to process 1,200 computer hard disks an hour at measurement levels that exceed manufacturer's expectations by 50%.
Field testing is now complete, and the trade show is expected to boost the product's profile and generate orders.
"This is a big move forward," Taylor said. He expects the product to serve as the launch pad for future company growth.
Initial order shipments are expected in October, with some revenue trickling in this year and the bulk in 1998, the analyst said.
Taylor added the company's expansion into Europe is expected to prompt a flurry of revenue from its balancers business. At the moment, its manufacturing of balancers is confined primarily to the precision grinding industry in the U.S.
Fueling investor interest further was a report issued recently by Taylor reiterating his "buy" recommendation for the company. Although the company missed analysts' expectations for fiscal 1997 by about three cents a share, he said, the shortfall was because of unexpected start-up costs associated with its new marketing unit in England and accounting problems related to its German unit. Taylor said he's confident most of the difficulties have
been addressed and resolved.
"The market doesn't like surprises," said Taylor, referring to the shortfall, "and the stock got whacked." But the analyst has pegged the company's fiscal 1998 earnings at 42 cents a share, up 82% from the disappointing 23 cents a share reported in fiscal 1997.
Another analyst, Johnny Svoren of Red Chip Review, cited the analyst's report and the upcoming trade show for the stock's activity Friday.
Schmitt Chief Financial Officer Annie Windsor cited the upcoming trade show, the company's annual meeting on Sept. 26 and the upcoming release of its first-quarter results on Sept. 23 for the stock's rise.
Although Windsor wouldn't comment specifically on first-quarter projections, she said the problems that hampered the company's fourth-quarter results have been resolved and won't affect the first-quarter numbers.
In addition to measurement systems for computer and electronic industries, Schmitt also makes balancing equipment for the automotive industry.
At the close, shares of Schmitt (SMIT) were up $2, or 25%, at $10 on Nasdaq volume of 167,400. Average daily volume is just 17,100.
Copyright (c) 1997 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.
Transmitted: 9/19/97 4:06 PM EDT (L100Ytzr)
NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Shares of Schmitt Industries Inc. jumped 25% Friday as the company geared up to unveil its much-hyped Dual Texture Measurement Machine, called DTM-2000, and release its first-quarter earnings.
The Portland, Ore., company, which makes laser-based measurement products and computer-controlled balancing equipment, will appear at a trade show in San Jose next week where it will introduce its new automated DTM machine.
The laser-based machine is able to check the surface smoothness of blank computer disks faster and more precisely than the traditional batch-sampling process or competing units that use calipers, said analyst Douglas Taylor of National Securities Corp.
The company hails the machine as one that will be able to process 1,200 computer hard disks an hour at measurement levels that exceed manufacturer's expectations by 50%.
Field testing is now complete, and the trade show is expected to boost the product's profile and generate orders.
"This is a big move forward," Taylor said. He expects the product to serve as the launch pad for future company growth.
Initial order shipments are expected in October, with some revenue trickling in this year and the bulk in 1998, the analyst said.
Taylor added the company's expansion into Europe is expected to prompt a flurry of revenue from its balancers business. At the moment, its manufacturing of balancers is confined primarily to the precision grinding industry in the U.S.
Fueling investor interest further was a report issued recently by Taylor reiterating his "buy" recommendation for the company. Although the company missed analysts' expectations for fiscal 1997 by about three cents a share, he said, the shortfall was because of unexpected start-up costs associated with its new marketing unit in England and accounting problems related to its German unit. Taylor said he's confident most of the difficulties have
been addressed and resolved.
"The market doesn't like surprises," said Taylor, referring to the shortfall, "and the stock got whacked." But the analyst has pegged the company's fiscal 1998 earnings at 42 cents a share, up 82% from the disappointing 23 cents a share reported in fiscal 1997.
Another analyst, Johnny Svoren of Red Chip Review, cited the analyst's report and the upcoming trade show for the stock's activity Friday.
Schmitt Chief Financial Officer Annie Windsor cited the upcoming trade show, the company's annual meeting on Sept. 26 and the upcoming release of its first-quarter results on Sept. 23 for the stock's rise.
Although Windsor wouldn't comment specifically on first-quarter projections, she said the problems that hampered the company's fourth-quarter results have been resolved and won't affect the first-quarter numbers.
In addition to measurement systems for computer and electronic industries, Schmitt also makes balancing equipment for the automotive industry.
At the close, shares of Schmitt (SMIT) were up $2, or 25%, at $10 on Nasdaq volume of 167,400. Average daily volume is just 17,100.
Copyright (c) 1997 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.
Transmitted: 9/19/97 4:06 PM EDT (L100Ytzr)
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