ESS Technology, Inc. Reports Record Fourth Quarter Revenue and Fiscal Year Results
01/20/2000
PR Newswire
(Copyright (c) 2000, PR Newswire)
FREMONT, Calif., Jan. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- ESS Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: ESST) today reported net income of $11.4 million, or $0.24 per diluted share, on net revenues of $88.7 million for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 1999. This compares to net income of $4.8 million, or $0.11 per diluted share, on a 13% increase in net revenues of $78.2 million in the fourth quarter of 1998.
Revenues for the year ended December 31, 1999, totaled $310.7 million, an increase of 42 percent from fiscal 1998 revenues of $218.3 million. Net income for the year was $40.1 million, or $0.88 per share, compared to a net loss of ($28.0) million or ($0.68) per share, for the year ended December 31, 1998.
"During the fourth quarter, ESS attained record revenues and continued to grow profits," stated Robert Blair, President and Chief Executive Officer of ESS. "Additionally, we shipped over 500,000 DVD units, making this one of the fastest ramping products in ESS history. We established a strategic relationship with a major e-commerce portal in China, and announced today that our subsidiary, ViAlta.com, was taking an equity position in this portal.
"We continued to introduce new products and gained new design wins across all product lines to support our continued expansion and future growth. Overall, this was an outstanding quarter for ESS," Mr. Blair concluded.
Fred Chan, ESS Chairman and Chairman and CEO of ViAlta.com, added, "During this quarter ViAlta continued its progress. We announced a new line of Internet appliances at the Consumer Electronics Show and are acquiring an equity position in China E-Commerce Technology, the only nationwide secure e-commerce portal in China today. Both of these accomplishments position ViAlta to be a key Internet player, both in the US and in the rapidly growing Chinese marketplace," he concluded.
ESS Technology
ESS Technology, Inc., a leader in Internet, communications, PC audio and digital video, provides advanced products enabling the convergence of communications, computer, consumer, and Internet markets.
ESS's subsidiary, ViAlta.com, Inc. plans to introduce advanced, user friendly products and applications for the Internet. Products will include multi-media appliances, applications and content for the Internet, which enable the user to experience new levels of entertainment and e-Commerce.
ESS, headquartered in Fremont, California, has R&D, sales, and technical support offices worldwide. ESS Technology's common stock is traded on the Nasdaq under the symbol ESST. ESS's web site address is: esstech.com.
The matters discussed in this news release include certain forward looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including, not limited to, the timely availability and acceptance of the Company's new products, the impact of competitive products and pricing, the dependence on continued growth in demand for PC and consumer multimedia products, as well as the other risks detailed from time to time in the SEC reports of ESS, including the reports on Form 10-K and Form 10Q. Actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements.
ESS TECHNOLOGY, INC.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(in thousands, except per share data)
(unaudited)
Three Months Ended Twelve Months Ended
December 31 December 31
1999 1998 1999 1998
Net revenues $88,728 $78,232 $310,651 $218,252
Cost of revenues 55,660 56,326 191,529 182,417
Gross profit 33,068 21,906 119,122 35,835
Operating expenses:
Research and development 10,079 7,370 37,383 30,529
Selling, general and
administrative 11,306 9,813 39,735 36,289
Operating income (loss) 11,683 4,723 42,004 (30,983)
Nonoperating income 1,766 296 5,178 1,478
Income (loss) before
provision for (benefit
from) income taxes 13,449 5,019 47,182 (29,505)
Provision for (benefit
from) income taxes 2,017 251 7,077 (1,489)
Net income (loss) $11,432 $4,768 $40,105 $(28,016)
Net income (loss) per
share - basic $ 0.28 $0.12 $0.99 $(0.68)
Net income (loss) per
share - diluted $ 0.24 $0.11 $0.88 $(0.68)
Shares used in calculating
net income (loss) per
share - basic 41,143 40,991 40,640 40,955
Shares used in calculating
net income (loss) per
share - diluted 46,677 44,566 45,625 40,955
ESS TECHNOLOGY, INC.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(in thousands)
(unaudited)
Dec. 31 Dec. 31
1999 1998
ASSETS
Current Assets:
Cash and cash equivalents $40,413 $65,752
Cash and cash equivalents - ViAlta 90,500 --
Short-term investments 28,274 16,719
Short-term investments - ViAlta 22,344 --
Accounts receivable, net 34,362 37,830
Inventories 42,347 22,882
Deferred income taxes 10,758 6,372
Prepaid expenses and other assets 2,199 4,142
Total current assets 271,197 153,697
Property, plant and equipment, net 40,564 38,000
Other assets 9,266 22,948
$321,027 $214,645
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable and accrued expenses $72,303 $57,930
Income taxes payable and
deferred income taxes 12,285 14,643
Total current liabilities 84,588 72,573
Minority Interest 52,860 --
Shareholders' equity:
Common stock 140,597 137,312
Retained earnings 42,982 4,760
Total shareholders' equity 183,579 142,072
$321,027 $214,645
Contact: /CONTACT: Dale R. Lindly, Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer of ESS Technology, Inc., 510-492-1066/ 16:30 EST |
