David, re BITS: Here's a later PR with third-quarter info, which looks a lot more promising than the second-quarter data you looked at (& posted)...
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Monday November 1, 10:32 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
Bitstream Inc. Reports Third Quarter Results
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 1, 1999--Bitstream Inc. (Nasdaq:BITS - news) today reported that revenues for the three months ended September 30, 1999 were $2,689,000 compared to $1,135,000 for the three months ended September 30, 1998, an increase of $1,554,000 or 137%, and an increase of $944,000 or 54% over second quarter of 1999 revenues of $1,745,000. Revenues for the Company's on-demand publishing segment were $1,276,000 for the three months ended September 30, 1999 of which $820,000 consisted of license fees and prepaid royalties from an existing long-term contract with Atex Media Solutions, Inc. (``Atex') and $456,000 consisted of other on-demand publishing license and consulting revenues. Revenues for on-demand publishing increased by $1,016,000 or 391% from the three months ended June 30, 1999 and by $196,000 or 75% excluding revenues from the Atex contract. Revenues for the nine months ended September 30, 1999 were approximately $6,805,000 compared to $7,280,000 for the nine months ended September 30, 1998, a decrease of 7%. The decrease in revenues for the nine months ended September 30, 1999 as compared to the nine months ended September 30, 1998 was primarily attributable to the loss of revenues associated with the Company's MediaBank and InterSep OPI product lines, which were sold to Inso Providence Corporation (``Inso') in August of 1998. Although these product lines generated revenue of approximately $2,594,000 during the nine months ended September 30, 1998, net losses associated with these product lines during the same period was $(2,969,000) excluding the gain on the sale of these product lines to Inso of $10,317,000. Revenues from the type and technology and on-demand publishing business segments for the nine months ended September 1999 were $4,565,000 and $2,240,000, respectively.
The Company reported a net loss for the three months ended September 30, 1999 of $(270,000) compared to net income of $7,189,000 for the three months ended September 30, 1998. Operating expenses decreased $1,391,000 or 33% and $4,112,000 or 34%, respectively, for the three and nine month periods ended September 30, 1999 versus the same periods in 1998. Net income for the three and nine months ended September 30, 1998 included a $10,317,000 gain on the sale of the Company's MediaBank and InterSep OPI product lines to Inso. Basic and diluted net loss per share were $(0.04) for the three months ended September 30, 1999, versus basic and diluted net income per share of $1.06 and $0.96, respectively for the three months ended September 30, 1998. Net loss for the nine months ended September 30, 1999 was $(1,971,000), as compared to net income of $4,433,000 for the nine months ended September 30, 1998. Basic and diluted net loss per share was $(0.27) for the nine months ended September 30, 1999 versus basic and diluted net income per share of $0.71 and $0.59, respectively, for the nine months ended September 30, 1998.
The Company's type and technology business segment was profitable for the third successive quarter this year with income from operations of $29,000 and $337,000 for the three and nine months ended September 30, 1999, respectively, as compared to operating losses of $(969,000) and $(3,123,000) for the three and nine months ended September 30, 1998, respectively. Profitability for this segment is primarily due to reduced operating expenses resulting from personnel reductions that occurred during the first and second quarters of 1998. Operating expenses for the three months ended September 30, 1999 decreased $845,000, from $1,984,000 to $1,139,000 as compared to the three months ended September 30, 1998. The decrease in operating expenses for the nine months ended September 30, 1999 was $3,656,000 ($2,711,000 excluding 1998 charges for severance and other non-recurring compensation of $945,000) as compared to the nine months ended September 30, 1998. The Company's investment in the form of operating expenses for its on-demand publishing segment totaled $1,654,000 and $4,887,000, respectively, for the three and nine months ended September 30, 1999. Net operating losses for the on-demand publishing segment were $(456,000) and $(2,782,000), respectively, for the three and nine months ended September 30, 1999.
During the third quarter, the Company also settled its only outstanding litigation matter with Rob Friedman, a former officer of the Company.
``We are very pleased that our type and technology business has continued for the third successive quarter this year to generate a profit while we continue to invest in new product development to maintain our leadership in font technology.' said Anna Chagnon, COO and head of Type and Technologies for Bitstream. ``In this fourth quarter, we are releasing two products that each represents over a year of intensive R&D efforts. Font Fusion(tm), which combines the best of Sampo Kaasila's T2K(tm) type rendering engine with Bitstream's TDIS type rendering engine, establishes Bitstream as the undisputed leader in the OEM type rendering tool market. As the set-top box and palm markets grow, Bitstream should see strong revenue growth with Font Fusion revenues. We also launched our 'Amazon for font buyers`` website, myfonts.com. Bitstream has amassed an amazing amount of type technologies into a fun, user-friendly web-based experience so people who would never previously think of purchasing a font will find it easy to explore the world of typography with their Web browser and perhaps buy a font on-line for a birth announcement or a wedding invitation. We expect to see incremental revenue growth in this new market segment for type that could not have been served without something like myfonts.com.'
``With our Pageflex subsidiary, we are starting to see our investment pay off as the early adopters of our variable printing solution, like IBM, go into production and start to realize the potential of `Marketing On Demand,' said Paul Trevithick, President of Bitstream. ``In recent months, we have developed marketing agreements with Agfa, Banta Integrated Media, and Indigo, in addition to IBM. We will continue to invest in our Pageflex subsidiary in marketing and customer support as revenue ramps up in the coming quarters. By simply clicking on a web page, Pageflex Mpower(tm) allows companies to create personalized and customized marketing documents based on the preferences and interests of individual customers. Corporations can now improve customer retention and sales through the concept of 'one-to-one`` marketing. Mpower is an XML-based solution that produces print and PDF/email output today, and web page output is under development for the near future. In addition, the successful integration at Atex Media Solutions of the Pageflex NuDoc(tm) Composition Engine should establish NuDoc as the premier OEM composition engine for new publishing solutions.' |
