It looked like someone was buying all the RMTR he could get today at 4 3/4. I've been told, if BEA were selling, they would use Smith Barney. So all you guys out there with level II can watch for this.
I visited with L Brown today. On the Hitachi License announcement, an up front fee would be paid to Racom, Ramtron would participate in revenues from technical assistance. It is good news in that it takes things to a higher level, but the bulk of the pay back for Ramtron will be further down the road.
Concerning Hitachi's 64K 3 volt FRAM, Hitachi says it will be out sometime this quarter. Sikes is planning to travel to Japan to discuss this and other business with other partners next week. We'll know more about how far along 64K Hitachi is after Sikes returns.
I guess the good news is, Ramtron has a $2M backlog of FRAM orders and they can't produce enough at home to meet demand. Rohm is already shipping to Ramtron and this will help take up the slack. I believe Lee said 175,000 units have already been shipped and several shipments (I think 3) are planned near term.
On another note, Cubic has already built and shipped 15,000 GO CARDS. Things with Cubic are on schedule. After Washington DC, we will probably see the next GO CARDS in Chicago so keep your eyes peeled.
Ramtron is entering a stage now where selling parts (i.e., FRAM and ESDRAM) will become more important to the bottom line than selling licenses. In fact, parts will determine if Ramtron stays alive.
First quarter is generally weak for Ramtron. Minus five cents is probably in line this quarter with a break even year.
Lee indicated the $4M placement was needed for Ramtron's negotiations with foundries (e.g., IBM). Who knows, maybe Sikes will sign some papers while he's gone. This was not discussed with Lee, it was an after thought after I hung up. |
