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Technology Stocks : DSS: DLT finally open for trading -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: LauA who wrote (178)	1/20/2000 5:08:00 PM
From: SamuraiSam	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 488

Quantum Corp.'s DLT & Storage Systems Group Reports Third Quarter Fiscal 2000 Results; Record Media Royalties Contribute to $51 Million Net Income MILPITAS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 20, 2000--Quantum Corp.'s DLT & Storage Systems Group (NYSE:DSS) today announced results for its third fiscal quarter ended Dec. 26, 1999 of $366 million in revenue. Net income and earnings per share, diluted, were $51 million and $.30, respectively. "Our results for the quarter reflect strong performance in both our media and our storage systems businesses," said Michael Brown, Quantum's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "Media revenue of $91 million, which includes record media royalties of $49 million, reflects the continued growth in the installed base of DLTtape drives and reinforces DLTtape's position as the industry's most broadly used and most widely scalable tape format. DLTtape remains the industry standard for mid-range backup and, with drive revenue of $215 million in the December quarter, Quantum continues to be the world's leading tape drive supplier." "Storage systems revenue continued at a record $82 million, growing 50% year over year. Quantum's storage systems businesses include the industry's broadest line of tape automation products and our recently acquired Snap Server product line," said Brown. "Our storage systems businesses are focused on networked storage and position Quantum as a leader in the fast growing markets for both tape automation and NAS (network attached storage) appliances for the workgroup." The strength of the media business, which represents over half of DSSG's operating income, is a key contributor to the cash generation capabilities of this business. During the December quarter, the business generated a record $95 million in cash from operations. Additionally, the company used $102 million to repurchase 6.9 million shares of DSSG's stock. For the quarter ended December 26, 1999, the consolidated net income for Quantum Corporation was $56 million. About Quantum Founded in 1980, Quantum Corp. (www.quantum.com) is the world's leading storage supplier in four of the six markets it serves: desktop hard disk drives, tape drives, network attached storage (NAS) appliances and solid state systems. Quantum is also the second largest supplier of mid-range tape automation systems and a leading supplier of high capacity hard disk drives. In 1999 Quantum became the first Silicon Valley company to issue tracking stock, replacing its' existing common stock with the ticker symbols DSS and HDD, which track the, which track the separate performance of the company's DLT and Storage Systems and Hard Disk Drive businesses. Both stocks are traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Selling its products through OEM and distribution channels worldwide, sales for the fiscal year ending March 1999 were $1.3 billion for Quantum's DLT and Storage Systems Group and $3.6 billion for Quantum's Hard Disk Drive Group. The foregoing statements regarding the DLT & Storage System Group's leadership position and rate of growth for the tape automation business and NAS appliance business are forward looking statements, and actual events or trends may differ materially. Important factors which could affect actual results of trends include (i) unpredictable demand for the DLT & Storage System Group's tape drive, tape automation and NAS appliance products, (ii) customers canceling, deferring or rescheduling orders as a result of excess inventory levels or other factors, (iii) increased competition in the tape drive, tape automation, and NAS appliance markets based on new technology standards or other factors and (iv) the other important risks, uncertainties and cautionary statements contained in Quantum's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 1999 and the quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 26, 1999. We undertake no obligation to update such forward-looking statements in the future. Quantum and the Quantum logo are trademarks of Quantum Corp., registered in the United States and other countries. DLT and DLTape are trademarks of Quantum Corp., LANvault is a trademark of ATL Products in the United States and other countries.

To: LauA who wrote (178)	1/20/2000 10:42:00 PM
From: Z Analyzer	Respond to of 488

Thanks for the summary of tape at Comdex. I'm puzzled by the fact that 100% of DSS's profits seem to come from tape. (Could losses on drives even be offsetting profitable libraries?) Seems in the early days Quantum had good margins on drives because media wasn't that big. Could it be that the 7000 which they had trouble getting to market is extremely expensive to build? Can't make any money selling it at a high price. SDLT is much more complex. How much will that cost to build? An interesting comparison is that EXBT says M2 will have great margins while selling for considerably less than SDLT (and I believe even the 8000). As for the issue with EXBT being able to build M2, its complexity is not much greater than M1. Imagine that if DSS is basically successful because of media alone and EXBT has good margins on drives, media and the libraries that go with M2. I believe that M2 media will be significantly lower priced however. -Z