After the Market closed, Dow Jones Had a News Story CORRECTING some miss statements in the earlier Press Release: From Dow Jones:
18:39 =RPT AND CORRECT:GameTech Falls 48% On Revenue Uncertainties
By Matthew Newman
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--GameTech International Inc.'s (GMTC) stock price
plunged 48.4% Friday after the company said revenues originally projected for
1998 may be delayed.
The Tempe, Ariz., company, which designs, develops and markets interactive
electronic bingo systems, said in a news release that the planned introduction
of a progressive bingo game in 1998 will be delayed.
The company is putting off the product's introduction because the U.S.
attorney in Oklahoma is investigating the legality of a similar product,
Multimedia Games Inc.'s "MegaMania" game.
The company also said its Satellite Bingo Network has had losses because
several bingo halls, which had agreed to participate in the network, are
putting off their involvement.
In addition, the company said its international market development will be
delayed because of the Asian economic crisis and a typhoon in Guam, where
GameTech had expected to lease a hall.
The company said these problems "may delay the realization of revenues
originally projected for 1998, but do not impact GameTech's future potential
or its core operations."
In an interview, GameTech Chief Executive Officer Richard Fedor said the
stock's plunge came as a surprise, especially since the company reported
strong 1997 earnings on Friday.
"We're very confident about the prospects in Asia in a period of time,"
Fedor said.
On Friday, the company reported net income of 39 cents a share diluted for
the year ended Oct. 31, compared with 11 cents for fiscal 1996.
Fedor said the earnings report met Wall Street analysts' earnings
projections.
(An earlier story incorrectly reported that the company's shares declined
because share earnings didn't meet Wall Street's expectations. The earlier
story didn't mention the company's report that revenues projected for 1998 may
be delayed.)
The company also said revenue rose to $12.6 million in fiscal 1997 from $5.4
million in the previous year. In a news release, it attributed the increased
earnings and revenue to its Texas and Washington operations.
GameTech, which went public in late November at 11, fell to as low as 4 7/16
Friday, below its previous all-time low of 9 1/2 set Thursday. The
Nasdaq-listed shares closed at 5, down 4 11/16 on volume of 2 million,
compared with a daily average of 166,700.
-By Matthew Newman; 201-938-2094; matthew.newman@cor.dowjones.com
(END) DOW JONES NEWS 01-09-98
06:39 PM |
