*AV* --GO figure this one, boys and girls. I am officially throwing my Hat (really $$$$) into the IOM Ring at the paltry price of $8.50 and beleive we have a real bargain here. This is where the $$$ from the last few days is being diverted. Yep, change of plans because of a nonsensical rerailment of this stock. And yes, I may be a little early. TO top things off, we have May 7.5, 8.75, and Aug 7.5, 10.0 options under wraps today. Look at the quarterly earnings and the volume traded on this monstor. The market is inefficient.
So for all the IOMer on the sidelines, Oh whatta opportunity.
Thursday January 22, 4:02 pm Eastern Time
Company Press Release
Iomega Corp. Announces Fourth Quarter Earnings Growth of 77 Percent on Revenue Growth of 38 Percent
1997 Annual Revenue Reaches $1.7 Billion
Net Income Doubles to $115 Million
ROY, Utah--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 22, 1998--Iomega Corp. (NYSE:IOM - news) Thursday reported record fourth quarter earnings of $36 million, or $0.13 per share, a 77 percent increase over fourth quarter 1996 earnings of $20 million, or $0.07 per share.
Record revenue of $547 million represented an increase of 38 percent over fourth quarter 1996 revenue of $397 million.
For the year, revenue grew 43 percent to $1.7 billion, over annual 1996 revenue of $1.2 billion. Net income doubled in 1997 to $115 million from $57 million for 1996, or $0.42 per share versus $0.21 per share, for the year.
Iomega is now reporting basic and diluted earnings per share. For the fourth quarter of 1997, basic earnings per share were $0.14 and diluted earnings per share were $0.13. For the year, basic earnings per share were $0.45 and diluted earnings per share were $0.42.
''We are pleased with our year-over-year sales and net income growth,'' said Kim Edwards, Iomega's president and chief executive officer. ''We shipped twice as many Zip drives in 1997 as in 1996, further evidence of our progress toward making the Zip drive the new standard in the high capacity removable storage market segment. We have now shipped over 12 million Zip drives worldwide.''
Gross margin for the fourth quarter of 1997 increased to $183 million, or 33.4 percent of sales, from $115 million, or 29.0 percent of sales, for the fourth quarter of 1996. Selling, general and administrative (''SG&A'') expenses as a percentage of sales increased to 19.0 percent, or $104 million, for the fourth quarter of 1997 as compared to fourth quarter 1996 SG&A expenses of $68 million, or 17.2 percent of sales.
The increase in SG&A expenses is primarily the result of international expansion, additional headcount, and increased legal and advertising expenses. Research and development expenses were $24 million, or 4.3 percent of sales, for the fourth quarter of 1997, as compared to $13 million, or 3.3 percent of sales, for the fourth quarter of 1996.
The company achieved positive cash flow of $32 million in the fourth quarter of 1997 and $137 million for the year. Iomega's balance sheet as of Dec. 31, 1997, reflected cash and temporary investments of $196 million, which is an increase of $30 million from third quarter 1997. Total debt decreased to $54 million from $56 million at Sept. 28, 1997.
''Our combined Zip and Jaz businesses grew 48% over the fourth quarter last year and 54% on a full-year basis,'' Edwards continued. ''Our fourth quarter performance, however, was affected by a slowdown in demand in Asia and the fact that we postponed shipment of some of our new products into the first quarter of 1998. In addition, volume production ramp of other new products was slower than planned.''
By product category, Iomega's Zip and Jaz product sales were $519 million in the fourth quarter of 1997. Iomega's Ditto tape product business declined in the fourth quarter by 28 percent year-over-year from $39 million to $28 million.
All of Iomega's geographic regions experienced year-over-year fourth quarter sales growth. Sales in Iomega's Americas region increased 23 percent to $301 million, Iomega's European sales grew 55 percent to $197 million and Iomega's Asia/Pacific sales grew 88 percent year-over-year to $49 million.
Iomega Corp. provides personal computer storage solutions that help people manage their computer stuff -- anywhere. These solutions include: Zip drives and disks; Jaz one gigabyte drives and disks; and Ditto tape backup drives and tape cartridges.
Used in homes, business, government and education, and by creative professionals, Iomega storage solutions are available through computer retail stores, resellers and major distributors. The company can be reached at 800/MY-STUFF (800/697-8833), iomega.com and additional Iomega press releases can be accessed through the toll-free fax-back line: (888/88-IOMEGA).
Special Note: The statements in this release related to the Zip drive becoming the new standard in the high capacity removable storage market segment and the expected introduction of new products in the first quarter of 1998 are forward-looking statements. There are a number of important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those suggested or indicated by such forward-looking statements.
These include, among others, market acceptance of, and demand for, the company's drive and removable disk products, manufacturing issues, including availability of certain key components of the Iomega Zip drive, product development delays, component quality issues, intellectual property rights, litigation, production costs, competition, general economic conditions, and other factors identified in Iomega's Annual Report as filed on Form 10-K, June 4, 1996 Prospectus and most recent quarterly reports filed with the SEC.
NOTE TO EDITORS: Iomega, Zip, Jaz, the Iomega Logo and the stylized ''i'' are registered trademarks of and Ditto is a trademark of, Iomega Corp. All other product and brand names are the property of their respective companies. |
