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Tuesday March 7, 4:03 pm Eastern Time
Company Press Release
Comverse Technology Announces Record Fourth Quarter And Fiscal 1999 Results And Declares 2-For-1 Stock Split: Fourth Quarter Earnings Per Share --Diluted-- Of $0.60 Vs. $0.44
Fourth Quarter Sales Up 27%, Net Income Up 56% To Record Levels
WOODBURY, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 7, 2000--Comverse Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: CMVT - news)
Comverse Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: CMVT - news) announced for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 1999, ended January 31, 2000, net income growth of 56%, to a record $50,534,000 ($0.60 per diluted share), compared with $32,369,000 ($0.44 per diluted share) for the fourth quarter of fiscal 1998.
The Company posted record sales of $240,589,000 for the fourth quarter of fiscal 1999, an increase of 27% over the fourth quarter of fiscal 1998.
For the fiscal year 1999, ended January 31, 2000, Comverse posted net income of $172,115,000, or $2.17 per diluted share (excluding one-time acquisition charges, net of tax, of $1,854,000, or $0.03 per diluted share), an increase of 54% over fiscal 1998. Sales for fiscal 1999 were $872,190,000, an increase of 25% over fiscal 1998.
The Company's Board of Directors also declared a two-for-one stock split, to be paid as a 100% stock dividend on its common stock. The stock dividend will entitle each stockholder of record at the close of business on March 27, 2000 to two shares for every one share of Comverse Technology common stock held on that date. Shares resulting from the split are expected to be distributed by Comverse's transfer agent on April 3, 2000.
Kobi Alexander, Chairman, President and CEO of Comverse, stated, ``The 27% increase in fourth quarter sales, and the 37% increase in our fiscal year-end orders backlog, to a record $225.5 million, reflects continued strong demand for Comverse's products. More than 320 wireless and wireline telecommunications network operators have selected Comverse Network Systems Division's enhanced services systems and software, which enable the provision of revenue-generating value-added services including call answering, wireless data and Internet-based information services, prepaid wireless services, Internet-based unified messaging (voice, fax, and e-mail in a single mailbox), one-touch call return, voice-controlled web portal and other speech recognition-based services, and additional personal communication services. In addition, our Comverse Infosys Division, which markets digital multimedia recording and monitoring systems, continues to benefit from the increased use of monitoring as a quality assurance tool for call centers and financial institutions.'
The Company ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents, bank time deposits and short-term investments of $777,692,000, working capital of $848,826,000, total assets of $1,352,368,000 and stockholders' equity of $711,340,000, all of which represent record levels.
Financial highlights at and for the twelve and three month periods ended January 31, 2000 and prior year comparisons are as follows:
Financial Highlights
(In thousands, except per share data)
Operations Data (excluding one-time acquisition charges):
Twelve Months Ended Three Months Ended
January 31, January 31, January 31,January 31,
1999 2000 1999 2000
Sales $696,094 $872,190 $190,102 $240,589
Cost of
sales $279,690 $329,802 $ 75,160 $ 90,084
Research
and
development,
net $132,820 $168,132 $ 36,008 $ 46,441
Selling,
general and
administrative $151,985 $184,080 $ 41,179 $ 50,364
Royalties
and license
fees $ 16,552 $ 18,841 $ 4,662 $ 4,771
Income from
operations $115,047 $171,335 $ 33,093 $ 48,929
Interest and
other
income, net $ 8,263 $ 16,519 $ 2,546 $ 6,014
Income before
income tax
provision $123,310 $187,854 $ 35,639 $ 54,943
Income tax
provision $ 11,783 $ 15,739 $ 3,270 $ 4,409
Net income $111,527 $172,115 $ 32,369 $ 50,534
Net income
per share,
diluted $ 1.55 $ 2.17 $ 0.44 $ 0.60
Net income
per share,
basic $ 1.68 $ 2.39 $ 0.48 $ 0.66
Note: The above amounts for the twelve months ended January 31,
2000 have been adjusted to eliminate the one-time acquisition-related
charges of $1,854, net of tax, or $0.03 per diluted share
Financial Highlights
(In thousands, except per share data)
Operations Data (including one-time acquisition charges,
recognized during the twelve months ended January 31, 2000, of $1,854,
net of tax, or $0.03 per diluted share):
-0-
Twelve Months Ended Three Months Ended
January 31, January 31, January 31, January 31,
1999 2000 1999 2000
Sales $696,094 $872,190 $190,102 $240,589
Cost of
sales $279,690 $329,802 $ 75,160 $ 90,084
Research
and
development,
net $132,820 $168,132 $ 36,008 $ 46,441
Selling,
general and
administrative $151,985 $184,080 $ 41,179 $ 50,364
Royalties and
license fees $ 16,552 $ 18,841 $ 4,662 $ 4,771
One-time
acquisition
-related charges $ -- $ 2,016 $ -- $ --
Income from
operations $115,047 $169,319 $ 33,093 $ 48,929
Interest and
other income,
net $ 8,263 $ 16,519 $ 2,546 $ 6,014
Income before
income tax
provision $123,310 $185,838 $ 35,639 $ 54,943
Income tax
provision $ 11,783 $ 15,577 $ 3,270 $ 4,409
Net income $111,527 $170,261 $ 32,369 $ 50,534
Net income
per share,
diluted $ 1.55 $ 2.14 $ 0.44 $ 0.60
Net income
per share,
basic $ 1.68 $ 2.36 $ 0.48 $ 0.66
Balance Sheet Data (in thousands):
January 31, January 31,
1999 2000
Cash, cash equivalents, bank time $ 657,617 $ 777,692
deposits and short-term investments
Total assets $ 1,031,393 $ 1,352,368
Working capital $ 707,281 $ 848,826
Stockholders' equity $ 381,662 $ 711,340
Comverse Technology, Inc., headquartered in Woodbury, New York, designs, develops, manufactures and markets computer and telecommunications systems and software for communications and information processing applications. Comverse's Network Systems Division's products include: multimedia enhanced services systems and software, which are currently used by more than 320 wireless and wireline telecommunications network operators to provide revenue-generating services such as call answering, wireless data and Internet-based information services, prepaid wireless services, mailbox-to-mailbox messaging, Internet-based unified messaging (voice, fax, and e-mail in a single mailbox), interactive voice response, virtual phone/fax, one-touch call return, personal number service, call screening/caller introduction, voice-controlled web portal and other speech recognition-based services, Internet messaging, Internet call waiting, and other personal communication services. Comverse's Infosys Division's products include: multiple channel, multimedia digital monitoring systems marketed to law enforcement and intelligence agencies; and multiple channel, multimedia digital recording, logging, and quality monitoring systems marketed to call centers, financial institutions and other organizations. Comverse's Ulticom Division's products include: network signaling software. Comverse Technology is an S&P 500 and NASDAQ-100 Index company. Visit Comverse Technology's web site at comverse.com.
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Contact:
Comverse Technology, Inc., Woodbury
Paul D. Baker, 516/677-7200 |
