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Technology Stocks : LAST MILE TECHNOLOGIES - Let's Discuss Them Here -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: MikeM54321 who wrote (6509)	2/29/2000 8:35:00 AM
From: MikeM54321	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 12823

Re: Brain/Brawn- International Fibercom(sym:IFCI) Q4 99 Results Thread- Looks like IFCI showed some explosive growth in Q4. I have no idea how the market will react to it. Surprisingly there wasn't much reaction to yesterday's news about Dycom substantially beating estimates ($.31/sh act vs. $.25/sh est). IFCI, like DY, is positioned to take advantage of Last Mile infrastructure spending by both telcos and cablecos. As my previous LMDS post noted, physically building the connections are a very expensive part of solving the Last Mile problem. -MikeM(From Florida) *************************** International FiberCom Reports Record Fourth Quarter Annual Revenues Infrastructure Development & Services Group Backlog up 187% to Record $178 Million Continues Focus on Engineering and Wireless Technology Solutions PHOENIX Feb. 29, 2000-- International FiberCom announced record revenues for its fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 1999. Revenues for the 1999 fourth quarter rose 65 percent to a new quarterly high of $54.8 million, compared to revenues of $33.2 million in the fourth quarter of 1998. For the year ended December 31, 1999, revenues increased 62 percent to a record $170.4 million, up from $105 million in 1998. 1999 fourth quarter net income was $2.6 million, or $0.09 per basic and diluted share. This compares to 1998 fourth quarter net income of $3.2 million, or $0.12 per basic and $0.11 per diluted share. Net income for 1999 was $7.8 million, or $0.28 per basic share and $0.26 per diluted share, compared to $11.4 million, or $0.48 per basic share and $0.43 per diluted share after non-recurring acquisition costs for 1998. According to Chairman & CEO Joseph P. Kealy, backlog for the Company's core Infrastructure Development and Services group at December 31, 1999 exceeded the Company's consolidated revenues for all of 1999, increasing 187 percent to a record $178 million. Backlog at December 31, 1998 was $62 million. Infrastructure Development and Services group revenue for the 1999 fourth quarter and year rose 79 percent and 109 percent to $46.1 million and $136.2 million, respectively. This compared to revenues of $25.8 million and $65.3 million for the respective year-earlier periods. 1999 gross margins for the Infrastructure Development and Services group increased 139 percent to $32.7 million, with EBITDA rising 226 percent to $16.2 million. This compares to 1998 Infrastructure Development Services group gross margins of $13.7 million and EBITDA of $5.0 million. Kealy commented, ``During 1999, we experienced more than 100 percent revenue growth and a 150 percent jump in gross profit in our key Infrastructure Development and Services group. We were able to achieve these increases while focusing on the technology solutions provided by the engineering portion of this group. We continue to see substantial growth in these areas as illustrated by the more than $59 million in new contracts we have announced since December,' Kealy said, ``and the significant increase in backlog for the Infrastructure Development and Services group to more than $178 million. ``We believe we are experiencing only the initial stages of the infrastructure build-out that is taking place throughout the country to support the rapidly increasing demand for Internet-enabled applications and the network bandwidth required to make these applications run effectively. As this demand for bandwidth continues to increase, we will grow our capacity and expand our engineering technology solutions both internally and through selective acquisitions, where appropriate, to meet the needs of both existing and new customers as they design, engineer and install networks capable of delivering data, video and voice,' Kealy said. The Company's Wireless Technology Solutions group contributed revenues for the first time in 1999, with $3.2 million in revenues and gross profit of $1.0 million. The Company dedicated substantial resources to R&D activities within this group and at Compass Communications, its engineering subsidiary. This combined investment in wired and wireless technologies represents International FiberCom's commitment to increase its ability to provide engineering innovation and connectivity solutions. The Company recognized tax credits totaling approximately $300,000 related to research and development activities. As anticipated, the Company's Equipment Distribution group gross margins were lower for 1999, decreasing to 32 percent from 53 percent in 1998. This resulted in an expected decrease in overall 1999 fourth quarter and year end net income and earnings per share, when compared to the similar periods in 1998. ``As we indicated in the first quarter of 1999,' Kealy said, ``changes in the dynamics affecting the secondary telecommunications equipment distribution industry caused declines in gross profit margins within this sector. During 1999, margins stabilized at a level that remains highly profitable and we believe the Equipment Distribution group will continue to complement our strategy of being a premier end-to-end solutions provider to the communications industry.' Consolidated EBITDA for the 1999 fourth quarter and year was $6.2 million and $21.3 million, respectively, compared to EBITDA of $6.6 million and $20.4 million for the year-earlier respective periods. International FiberCom is a leading provider of a wide range of engineering, development and maintenance services for fiber optic, broadband networks, public telephone networks, local and wide area networks, and specialized and proprietary wireless solutions. With a number of recent strategic acquisitions that complement and enhance existing services and products, International FiberCom has positioned itself as a ``one-stop shop' for the telecom and cable TV industries**.

To: MikeM54321 who wrote (6509)	8/30/2000 4:52:50 PM
From: MikeM54321	Respond to of 12823

Re: Brain/Brawn - Dycom (sym:DY) Q400 CC Notes Thread- As most know, I follow the brain/brawn companies not only from a direct investment perspective, but also from the point of view of trying to figure out where the telecommunications network is heading. Dycom is a good company to follow because they have an even split between the telcos and cablecos. One point of interest was their BellSouth work seems to be accelerating. Not sure what’s going on there but according to BLS website, they have over 90% of their customers within 12,000 feet of fiber. They are also leading in FTTH customers and I forgot the stats on this one and can’t find them on their website. I picked them up recently in a hard copy article, and was impressed with the figures. This was also a surprise to me-- The HFC overbuilders. I don’t get it. What kind of incentive is there for a HFC planted to be laid over another? I didn’t realize this, but apparently it makes sense because DY just talked about a big one they are doing in Kansas for Digital Access. It’s a 3,400 mile HFC plant that will bring them in about $90 million in revenues for the work they are doing building it. And apparently that pales in comparison to another overbuilder in the area, Everest Communications. DY said the overbuilders in general create a network that will be disruptive to their competitors. They target about 25 megbit/sec symetrical speeds over their HFC network. I found this very interesting. I noticed that ATT has moved down from a Q1 13% customer to a current 8% customer. Proably explains a little about Harmonic's woes. But this doesn't mean ATT is busy. As they recently stated, they are still going after 500,000 local cable telephony customers and this may be where their current efforts are. Today's WSJ news about that free five month LD and local deal is a sign they are getting agressive about getting those 500,000 customers signed up. Other than the above, it was a typical call with dramatic increases in both the top and bottom lines. But as they approach a billion in annual revenues, one wonders how much more effort it will take to keep hitting the kind of growth rates they have done over the last couple of years. And of course you have to weigh this against all the PR coming out of the telcos and cablecos about how much of their networks are fully upgraded. I’m of the opinion that a lot of their PR is just that. And they consistently overstate their positions. This is a hard figure to get a handle on for that reason and caution is warranted. -MikeM(From Florida) ______________________________________________ Fourth Quarter ended July 29, 2000 Rev $239 million up 57% yr/yr Net $21.6 million up 46% yr/yr Backlog as of July 29, 2000 was $1,155,800,000 Internal yr/yr revenue growth for quarter was 38% Internal revenue growth for year was 34% If including Fugal Acquisition then: Quarter revenue growth was 49% yr/yr Annual revenue growth was 42% Fugal had great growth with Williams, Broadwing, and USWest Performed Q4 work in 44 states Headcount 7,261 DirectTV (conversion of PrimeStar subscribers) and Williams Communications were above normal in Q4 Digital Access is HFC overbuilder in Kansas. A 3,400 miles network. $85-$100 million in revenues Everest Communication overbuilder in Kansas was much bigger (not a DY contract). Utilicom in Indiana is a HFC overbuilder they have recently completed. Overbuilders target for broadband seems to be about 25 Mb/s symmetrical. BellSouth was at highest level ever Comcast took a distinct turn upwards Charter and Aldelphia are growing Top five customers Q400 are 51% of total revenues BellSouth 15.5% Comcast 11.6% Williams 8.3% PrimeStar/Direct TV 7.6% TCI(ATT) 7.5% Telco 47.5% Cableco 46.2% Underground 4.1% Electrical 2.2% CO business was 7-8% of total