I agree with you Brian those analyst are for sure bizarre.
After listening to the CC if someone can explain to me what was the point of asking (5 different analyst try to get an answer, maybe because they didn't found a more interesting question or they always ask the same question regardless of the company).
The question was :
"Could you give us the "break down" in audio revenue by product"
% of awe32, awe64, AWE64 gold, ensonic.
i taught that the last Q was bad because of the delay in the SBlive isn't that a sound card I got it..... now they are also analising the past sales of old products that are no longer in the channel.
Sorry if my english is Not that good.
MArc
08/07 1:14A (DJ) =Singapore's Creative Downgrades Revenue Growth Target
Story 0427 =Singapore/Creative/Downgrades -2: Shrs Dn 8% At S$18.40
Analysts said they were thrown off guard by Creative's higher-than-expected operating expenses, partly because of research and development expenses in its new flagship audio product, Sound Blaster Live!
During the conference call earlier in the day, Creative also said gross margins will hover around 32%, plus or minus two percentage points, analysts said. Creative's gross margins fell to 26% from 31% in the fourth quarter, which was largely within expectations as the group had warned in mid-June that fourth-quarter gross margins would be in the mid-20% range. Creative's shares on the Stock Exchange of Singapore have plunged in response to the disappointing set of results, stock watchers said.
At 0648 GMT, Creative's shares are down 8%, or S$1.60 ($1=S$1.7436), at S$18.40.
"The market is punishing Creative for the poor showing,' said Terence Khoo, analyst at Vickers Ballas Investment Research. Analysts said the big question mark for the current financial year is
whether substantial growth will come from the Sound Blaster Live! and whether it can arrest the decline in audio sales since the second quarter.
The Sound Blaster Live!, unveiled Thursday, is a high-end sound card
Creative hopes will account for most of its future sales growth. With an estimated retail price of US$199.99, it offers sound that seeks to create sound as it is heard in certain environments and is targeted at video-game enthusiasts and musicians. Some analysts warned that the slow growth in the personal computer market could damp sales of Sound Blaster Live!
'It's not a product-related problem; it's a market-related problem,' said James Heal, analyst at Indosuez W.I. Carr (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.
DOW JONES NEWS 08 -07 -98
02:57 AM
Analysts said they also will watch the performance of Creative's sales of personal computer-digital video disks, or PC-DVDs, and whether the product will deliver growth this financial year. 'There'll be continuous weakness from the low-end graphic side and the DVD side because competition will be much severe in DVD in coming years,' said DIR's Sarmah. 'Until you see stronger signs that the Sound Blaster Live! and PC-DVD are all doing strongly, there is not going to be any incentive for people to look very closely at the stock,' said Paribas' Doktor. Sarmah said his tentative fiscal 1999 earnings per share forecast for Creative, at least before he attends Saturday's analysts' briefing, is US$1.68 compared to US$1.42 the previous fiscal year. 'Creative will perform well, but in a difficult market,' said Indosuez W.I. Carr's Heal.
Many analysts said they are wary of issuing a buy recommendation on Creative given its cloudy prospects. 'The business uncertainty has increased substantially,' said Sarmah, who is maintaining a neutral recommendation on the stock.
Some analysts said that although the stock's fair value is at S$19 -S$20, the share price could still slide by another 20% in the short term.
On Nasdaq, Creative's shares slid 5/8 to end Thursday at US$11.
-Netty Ismail; 65 -421 -4804; ismail.netty@cor.dowjones.com
(END) DOW JONES NEWS 08 -07 -98 |
