Excel Switching Corporation Announces Record Fourth Quarter
Operating Results
HYANNIS, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 26, 1998--Excel Switching Corporation (Nasdaq:XLSW - news), a leading
provider of open switching platforms for telecommunications networks worldwide, today announced record results for its
fourth quarter and fiscal year ended December 27, 1997.
Revenues for the fourth quarter of 1997 increased 47% to $26.1 million from $17.7 million for the fourth quarter of 1996. Net
income increased 190% to $6.0 million from $2.1 million in 1996. Diluted earnings per share were $0.16 for 1997 versus
$0.06 in 1996.
Revenues for the 1997 fiscal year increased 43% to $88.7 million from $62.1 million for the fiscal year 1996. Net income for
1997 increased 136% to $18.6 million from $7.9 million in 1996. Diluted earnings per share were $0.54 for 1997 versus
$0.23 in 1996.
''Fiscal 1997 was an exciting year for Excel and all of our customers worldwide,'' said Robert P. Madonna, chairman and
chief executive officer. ''During the year, we expanded our product capabilities, completed an initial public offering, continued
to penetrate existing markets, and capitalized on emerging opportunities to strengthen our position as a worldwide leader for
programmable switching solutions.
''In the fourth quarter of 1997, we made solid progress on our long-term goal of broadening our market base and distributing
revenue across a variety of customers. We saw strong growth throughout our market base, including both infrastructure sales
and enhanced services,'' said Madonna. The wireless and wireline infrastructure market segments include systems that are
deployed in the carriers' telecommunications networks to provide the core switching services. These systems are used for
Personal Communications Services (PCS), wireless local loop, tandem switching, and international gateway services.
Growth in the enhanced services sector was marked by expansion in the variety of enhanced service applications to include
prepaid calling, voice activated dialing and unified messaging. ''The wide variety of both enhanced services and infrastructure
solutions enables service providers to attract and retain customers by offering competitive services on a cost-effective
platform,'' Madonna said.
The significant growth in profitability for both the quarter and the fiscal year largely resulted from the achievement of record
revenues combined with improvements in gross margins. In addition, investment income generated by the Company's recent
initial public offering combined with an already strong cash position contributed to the Company's increase in profitability for
the quarter and the year.
About Excel
Excel Switching Corporation is a leading provider of open switching platforms for telecommunications networks worldwide.
The Company develops, manufactures, markets and supports a family of open, programmable, carrier-class switches that
address the complex enhanced services and wireless and wireline infrastructure needs of network providers. The Company's
products are currently deployed in telecommunications networks in almost 60 countries throughout the world. Excel Switching
Corporation is headquartered at 255 Independence Drive, Hyannis, Massachusetts, 02601.
Note to Investors:
This release may contain statements which are ''forward looking'', and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause
actual results to differ significantly from expectations. Factors that might cause such a difference include, but are not limited to,
those relating to: quarterly fluctuations in results of operations; concentration of customers within market segments;
management of growth; dependence on and concentration of relationships with application developers, original equipment
manufacturers and systems integrators; length of sales cycle; risk of new product introductions; dependence on proprietary
rights; and other risks identified in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings including those risks identified in
the section entitled ''Risk Factors'' of the Company's Registration Statement on Form S-1 (333-35791) and Quarterly Report
on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 27, 1997. There can be no assurance that the Company's gross, operating
and net income margins will be sustainable at recent levels in future quarterly periods. |
