BANY,, here is a news release of great interest to me,.,.,Good luck, I am a share holder of AMGV,,BANY is very interesting in my opinion, here you go,.,.,..
Tuesday July 21, 9:02 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
Message from President of Banyan Corporation
Dear Shareholder:
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 21, 1998-- With Summer officially here and the second quarter
of fiscal 1998 now behind us, it pleases me greatly to report to you that all of our hard work and dedication is beginning to pay
off. Banyan is in the best fundamental shape of its entire corporate history. During the second quarter, Banyan significantly
expanded its worldwide distribution capabilities through a non-exclusive distribution agreement with Ingram Micro, Inc.
(NYSE:IM - news), the world's leading wholesale distributor of technology products and services; increased its Internet
presence through agreements with Anything, Inc. and ACI Microsystems, Inc.; added computer giant and runaway success
story Dell Computer Corporation (NASDAQ:DELL - news) to its list of authorized resellers; and introduced four new
DoubleCase products.
INGRAM MICRO, INC.
One of the most significant developments during the second quarter from a long-term perspective - is the signing of a
non-exclusive worldwide distribution agreement with Ingram Micro. With over $16.5 billion in annual sales, Ingram Micro is
the world's leading distributor of technology products and services. Ingram Micro distributes over 145,000 products to more
than 100,000 resellers located throughout 120 countries worldwide. Ingram Micro's Internet site may be found at
www.ingrammicro.com.
By partnering with a distributor the caliber of Ingram Micro, Banyan should be able to meet any and all future distribution
challenges it may face - whether to a small, single site reseller or to a multi-national computer behemoth. Because limited
distribution capabilities are no longer a factor, Banyan can now begin to make headway towards its goal of having its products
sold through all of the top 20 U.S. computer retailers and all of the major personal computer manufacturers. Banyan looks
forward to a long and mutually beneficial relationship with Ingram Micro.
INTERNET EXPANSION
An area that is rapidly growing in importance to Banyan is the Internet. Although direct Internet sales remain insignificant
compared to Banyan's larger contract sales, in the opinion of Management the Internet's rising popularity as a place to
purchase goods and services is vital to the Company's long-term sales strategy. Banyan's business plan calls for Banyan's
products to be sold through an increasing number of Internet ''storefronts'', each with numerous ''links'' to the storefront as
well as to information about Banyan's products.
To this end Banyan entered into an agreement with Internet reseller Anything, Inc. during the second quarter. Anything, Inc.
currently has Internet storefronts at www.anythingpc.com, www.anythingmac.com, and www.anythingunix.com. Anything,
Inc. is experiencing tremendous sales growth, which should eventually lead to significantly increased Internet sales of Banyan's
products. Banyan is working closely with Anything, Inc. to address some of the obstacles to Internet ''add on'' sales of
computer accessory products.
Continuing with this new area of growth, shortly after the close of the second quarter Banyan entered into an agreement with
ACI Microsystems, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of American General Ventures, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board:AMGV -
news). ACI Microsystems designs and manufactures desktop and notebook personal computers under the Avail(r) brand
name. ACI Microsystems markets its Avail(r) PCs primarily through a number of Internet storefronts, including its own
www.availpc.com. ACI Microsystems is forecasting substantial growth over the next year and will be actively promoting
Banyan's DoubleCase line of hard-sided protective carrying cases as an option on new Avail(r) notebook computer
purchases.
Additionally, Banyan has been updating its own wholly-owned DoubleCase Corporation Internet site at
www.doublecase.com. We encourage all shareholders to visit the site and welcome all comments and suggestions.
DELL COMPUTER CORPORATION
The second quarter also witnessed Banyan enter into a reseller agreement with Dell Computer Corporation, the third largest
U.S. manufacturer of notebook computers and the fastest growing notebook computer manufacturer in the world. Dell is the
world's leading direct computer systems company with revenues of $13.6 billion over the past four quarters. Dell also has one
of the most active Internet storefronts at www.dell.com.
Dell is currently offering Banyan's DoubleCase product line through its Federal Group (government sales), and will eventually
offer DoubleCase products through its corporate and consumer sales channels. Over the coming weeks and months Banyan's
Management and sales staff will be making visits to Dell's Round Rock, Texas headquarters to educate and train Dell's own
salespeople on the DoubleCase line. This should lead to higher sales of DoubleCase products for both companies.
Banyan also introduced four new DoubleCase models built especially for the Dell Inspiron(r) and Latitude(r) lines of notebook
computers. The new DoubleCase models are the NB-3000DL and the NB-3020DL, based on the DoubleCase 3000-series;
the NB-4000DL, based on the 4000-series; and the NB-5060DL, based on the 5000-series. Banyan is excited to be
working with a company of Dell's caliber and vision and plans to continue offering Dell-specific products tailored to future Dell
offerings.
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS/SEC REPORTING STATUS
One item that Banyan had hoped would be completed and released during the second quarter is still being compiled: the 1996
and 1997 financial audits. There are numerous reasons for the delays, some of them Banyan's fault, some of them not.
The lack of current audited financial data has prevented Banyan from filing with the SEC to become a fully reporting company.
Banyan will make a voluntary filing with the SEC to become a fully reporting company shortly after its audit is completed.
Admittedly, in the past this was not a priority issue to Banyan as a company - getting new business and surviving with limited
resources took top priority - but with Banyan's increasing level of business and ever brightening future becoming a fully
reporting company has moved up in priority.
Banyan acknowledges that as a rapidly developing public company it is important to share with shareholders the news of new
developments and show, over time, how those developments translate into sales and earnings growth via quarterly reports.
Banyan anticipates the developments it has experienced year-to-date should add to sales and earnings growth in the
second-half of fiscal 1998 and substantially in fiscal 1999 and beyond.
In regards to the status of the audit, the accounting is, for the most part, completed. Our CPA has been and still is working on
getting confirmations of accounts payable, accounts receivable, and so forth. This step requires the cooperation of everyone
Banyan had active accounts with - vendors, resellers, distributors, etc. - during the time periods being audited. Because of the
depth and scope of the audit this has been the most time consuming aspect. Banyan is hoping to have enough confirmations
returned within the next few weeks to satisfy our CPA and conclude the audit, thereby enabling Banyan to begin reporting its
quarterly results to shareholders and the SEC.
SHAREHOLDER VALUE
Over the last few weeks Banyan has witnessed its share price nearly double in value giving Banyan a current market
capitalization of just over $2 million. Management recognizes that this is a ''paltry'' valuation considering the potential market
Banyan sells its products into, the size and potential of current and future government contracts, and recent developments
including Ingram Micro, Anything, Inc., ACI Microsystems and Dell Computer - any one of which is arguably worth millions
to Banyan and its shareholders.
Management firmly believes that Banyan's stock is trading at a steep discount to the true value of its rapidly expanding
business. Why? The first and most obvious reason, which has been well addressed in the past, is the blatant short selling that
drove Banyan's share price as low as 15-cents a share. Banyan has investigated the situation in depth and discovered that,
yes, there has been abusive short selling practices in its stock. Since identifying the practices and some of the parties
responsible, Banyan has begun to take preventative measures to avert such future abuses. These measures appear to be
working, as the market for Banyan's stock seems to be more organized and less volatile.
When short selling and volatility plague a stock such as Banyan's for such a long period it drives away potential investors.
Recent developments, increases in growth, and better stability in share price set the stage for these and other investors to
return and rethink Banyan as an investment vehicle. Continued exposure through news announcements, media reviews, and
newsletter and analyst reports will bring additional positive attention to Banyan. When coupled with becoming a reporting
company later this year, Management anticipates most of the past concerns and doubts will dissipate into distant memories,
resulting in Banyan's share price rising to more true fair market valuations.
ORDER BACKLOG, IMPROVEMENTS IN EFFICIENCIES, AND FUTURE PROSPECTS
Banyan achieved further improvements in manufacturing efficiencies at its new facility during the second quarter. Banyan is
now able to ''same day'' ship orders under $1,000 received prior to 1:00 p.m. MDT. Orders exceeding $1,000 are usually
shipped within two business days. Large bulk orders may require up to a two week lead time. These manufacturing
improvements enabled Banyan to fulfill the remainder of its order backlog during the quarter.
In addition to the improvements in manufacturing efficiencies, as Banyan continues to grow it will begin sharing a larger portion
of the burden of warehousing increased inventory demands with its wholesale distributors such as Ingram Micro. Management
believes these and future improvements in manufacturing and operational efficiencies will help keep future order backlogs and
inventory requirements to a minimum. The final result: lower overhead costs and improved availability of products to
customers.
Throughout the second quarter, and even early into the current third quarter, Banyan has been extremely successful at laying
the groundwork for substantial increases in both sales and earnings. Clearly, some of these developments took longer than
others to finalize. However, there are many other potential developments Banyan is currently negotiating, each ranging in size,
scope and potential, including the long-delayed Patriot Group, Inc. acquisition. With each successive new development it
becomes easier for Banyan to execute its business plan and add value to the Company.
In closing I would like to say thank you for your continued support in these exciting times. Each day that passes brings Banyan
closer to achieving its goal of becoming the premiere worldwide supplier of computer accessory products. For more
information about Banyan I urge you to contact our Investor Relations firm by phone at 512/453-3817 or by e-mail at
bany@sitra.com. You may also obtain the latest information on Banyan 24-hours a day by visiting our Internet site at
sitra.com.
Very truly yours,
Cameron Yost
President and Chief Executive Officer
The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a ''safe harbor'' for forward-looking statements. Certain
information included in this communique (as well as information included in oral statements or other written statements made or
to be made by Banyan Corporation) contains statements that are forward-looking, such as statements relating to the future
anticipated direction of the high technology industry, plans for future expansion, various business development activities, planed
capital expenditures, future funding sources, anticipated sales growth and potential contracts. Such forward-looking
information involves important risks and uncertainties that could significantly affect anticipated results in the future and,
accordingly, such results may differ from those expressed in any forward-looking statements made by or on behalf of Banyan
Corporation. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those relating to development and expansion
activities, dependence on existing management, financing activities, domestic and global economic conditions, changes in
federal or state tax laws, and market competition factors.
Contact:
Sitra Enterprises, Inc.
Investor Relations
512/453-3817; Fax 512/453-7553
E-Mail: bany@sitra.com
Internet: sitra.com
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