Trimble has about Eleven distinct business lines. In my opinion the major drivers of growth in each of these business lines during 1998 will be:
Land Survey:
4800 system, Topcon deal, Japan opening up, Expansion of uses,
GIS/mapping:
RTK mapping ability, universal satellite DGPS correction.
Precice positioning:
caterpillar relationship. Early adopters and innovators will start using in agri, mining, and construction industries.
Marine Survey, hydrography etc:
Marine oil & mineral exploration, continental shelf mapping, DGPS Beacons.
Automatic Vehicle location and tracking:
GMDSS, Public Safety and transport, Commercial shipping, prisoner
Aviation:
Free flight
Military:
Lockheed, CUGR
In Car Navigation:
Availability of digital maps and other information, big price drop,
Timing:
Wireless growth, Internet growth, video networks. I expect to see contracts with major equipment vendors.
Embedded GPS OEM:
Lower power requirements, miniaturized size.
In my opinion the largest growth will be in land survey, military, mapping, timing, AVL, precise positioning, and avionics.
In Quarter 4 97 I am expecting about $80 million in sales and 30 cents per share in net Income. Calendar 1998 should be $350 to $400 million in sales and $1.50 per share in earnings. The main difference this time around is that there are so many new markets that are driving growth. |
