Home - Yahoo! - Help
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[ Business | US Market | By Industry | IPO | AP | S&P | International | PRNews | BizWire ]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Related Quotes
TSSW
7/8
-1/16
delayed 20 mins - disclaimer
Wednesday October 28, 4:03 pm Eastern Time
Company Press Release
TouchStone Software Announces Preliminary Third Quarter Results and Plan To Leverage Diagnostic Know-How
HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 28, 1998-- TouchStone Software Corp. (Nasdaq: TSSW - news) Wednesday estimated its loss to be between $900,000, and $1 million or $0.11 to $0.13 per share, for the third quarter ended Sept. 30, 1998.
This compares with a loss of $714,000, or $0.09 per share, in the same period last year. The company's revenues for the third quarter are expected to be between $700,000 and $800,000 compared with total revenues of $1,443,000 for the same period a year ago. The loss for the third quarter is estimated to be approximately 50 percent of the previous quarter's loss, and includes approximately $85,000 of restructuring charges resulting from the reorganization that began in the second quarter and continued through the end of the third quarter. The positive impact of this reorganization is seen in the reduction of total losses compared with the prior quarter.
New Strategy -- New Plan
''Since joining TouchStone Software in mid-August,'' said Chief Executive Officer and President Ken Forbes, ''I have focused on a three-pronged strategy for restoring shareholder value: controlling costs, stabilizing the company's near-term revenue stream, and examining long-term opportunities to leverage the company's key assets. I am now pleased to be able to provide our customers, partners, and investors with additional information on the progress of this strategy.''
Reorganization
The first step taken by the company in September involved a reorganization of personnel resulting in an overall reduction of headcount. In addition, the company has examined other operating expenses that can be reduced or eliminated. Forbes noted, ''These actions have given me the flexibility to bring in new people with the key skills we'll need going forward. Also, we are now able to operate the Company with fewer people by improving our work processes in all areas.''
Leveraging Existing Relationships
The second step in the company's turnaround plan is to leverage TouchStone's existing relationships, especially in the retail channel, to stabilize near-term revenue. Kevin Murray, director of marketing and product planning, said, ''Because of our long history of producing quality diagnostic products, TouchStone has good relationships with national retail chains and the distributors that service these chains. However, in recent years we have not had the breadth of products needed to take full advantage of these channel resources.''
The company has undertaken concrete steps since mid-August to remedy this lack of product offerings. For example, TouchStone has created a unique hardware-software bundle involving the company's award-winning CheckIt NetOptimizer product to be formally announced and released to the retail channel in November.
Furthermore, TouchStone has created an aggressive program to evaluate, license, and bring to market new products that fit within the CheckIt line of utilities and productivity tools. This program will result in the release of new products in the first half of 1999.
Sales of CheckIt NetOptimizer have continued to increase month-over-month due to the marketing efforts of the company and to extremely positive press coverage. TouchStone will continue to drive the momentum of CheckIt NetOptimizer through the holiday buying season with continued marketing and creative promotion.
New Business Strategy
The third and most important step in Forbes' three-pronged turnaround strategy has been to work with the TouchStone management team to identify and validate new business opportunities to set TouchStone's future direction.
''While we will continue to have a strong presence in retail, and are committed to marketing new retail products,'' Forbes said, ''we can no longer rely on the retail channel alone to drive TouchStone's growth. Over the past six weeks the management team and I have diligently researched new markets for our diagnostic know-how. I am pleased to report that we have identified a specific opportunity that will allow TouchStone to command a strong position in a rapidly growing market. Having gained the approval of the board of directors to develop a detailed plan, we are now engaged in pursuing this opportunity.''
A Move to the Internet
While specific details must be withheld to protect the company's competitive advantage and future shareholder value, Forbes noted that this opportunity involves using TouchStone's diagnostic capabilities and the Internet to help solve the day-to-day PC problems faced by home and small-office users.
Forbes said, ''Currently, we package our diagnostic technology and sell it in retail stores. Going forward, we will be delivering this know-how directly to consumers, whenever they need it.''
TouchStone plans to launch this next-generation PC support offering in the second quarter of 1999.
About TouchStone
TouchStone Software is a leading developer of innovative software designed to help people use complex technologies. The company's products, which include CheckIt 98, CheckIt 98 Diagnostic Suite, CheckIt NetOptimizer and FastMove!, are distributed worldwide through the retail, VAR, distributor, direct and OEM sales channels.
TouchStone's corporate headquarters are located at 2124 Main Street, Huntington Beach, Calif., 92648. European headquarters are located at 2380 Perchtoldsdorf, Vienna, Austria, 011-43-1-869-09-35 (Phone), 011-43-1-869-09-3518 (Fax) or e-mail to touchstone_europe@aon.at. Additional information about TouchStone Software is available at www.touchstonesoftware.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contact:
TouchStone Software Corp., Huntington Beach
Ken Forbes, President & CEO
714/969-7746
Ray Norberte, Investor Relations
714/969-7746, Ext. 313
Ron Maas, Chief Financial Officer
714/969-7746
Pam Swartwood, Media Relations
714/969-7746, Ext. 302
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
More Quotes and News: Touchstone Software Corp (Nasdaq:TSSW - news)
Related News Categories: computers, earnings, software
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Help
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright © 1998 Business Wire. All rights reserved. All the news releases provided by Business Wire are copyrighted. Any forms of copying other than an individual user's personal reference without express written permission is prohibited. Further distribution of these materials is strictly forbidden, including but not limited to, posting, emailing, faxing, archiving ina public database, redistributing via a computer network or in a printed form.
See our Important Disclaimers and Legal Information.
Questions or Comments? |
