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Technology Stocks : Eshed Robotec (ROBO) - a New Star is Born -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?


To: debra vogt who wrote (96)3/30/2000 7:21:00 PM
From: Francois Goelo  Respond to of 113
 
$+$+$ Due Diligence on ROBO and "MemCall" Technology...

I spent over 30 minutes on the phone to Rafael Aravot, co-manager and Director of ROBO... Here is what I learned, besides the fact the 10K is supposed to come out tomorrow...

1) Basic Stats from SEC Filings...

Outstanding: 11.8 millions shares, including some 500K shares still in Treasury, that can be sold on a "as needed" Private Placement basis, to raise development Capital, once the share Price is back up again.... A recent P.P was done for 84,000 shares @ $11.90 and raised $1 Million... Float: about 4 Millions shares.... As of September 1999, Assets: $17.4 millions.. Liabilities: $10 Millions... Contact Phone #9725-2931212...

2) Latest PR about Company Re-organization...

biz.yahoo.com

3) Business Model...

ROBO has a number of irons in the fire and the split of the various Divisions is explained in the PR... What interested me is the following:

+ The joint venture with the Japanese, YET is very profitable and Revenues of $10 Millions and Earnings of $2 Millions are projected in 2000...

+ Their traditional activities of teaching Computers and Robotics Science is now being supplemented by electronic teaching via the Internet, which should greatly broaden the tuitions scope and the Revenue...

4) Mini CMGI in the making...

The most interesting Business Division integrates: Distance Internet Learning, Swapstation (70,000 members, 1.2 millions music titles), MemCall and other potential acquisition in the encryption field... They will all be organized in such a way that they can be spun-off as IPO's, when mature, in order to maximize value to shareholders...

5) "Call Out Memory": MemCall has HUGE POTENTIAL, IMO...

ROBO has found a way to INCREASE THE RETRIEVAL SPEED of information stored in ANY TYPE of EXISTING MEMORY DEVICES, by an average of 60% to 70%... The invention can easily be fitted to all existing computers/servers, IS FULLY SCALABLE and doesn't necessitate the design of new Chips, as it uses existing technology... This means it could well hit the Market sometime in 2000... One Patent has already been applied for and in total, there should be between 10 and 15 patents covering all potential applications... ROBO believes the Market for this new technology is in the MANY BILLIONS of DOLLARS...

To ensure Credibility, an Expert Independent Report on the Invention has been commisionned and is due out shortly... ROBO will come out with a lot more details about its new "Architecture for Accelerated Information Retrieval" when all the Patents are in place and the technology proven beyond the shadow of a doubt to their Peers...

6) Conclusion...

My Earnings projections for Year 2000 is just under $3 Millions and include a hefty rent paid by Siemens, who has coincidentally relocated its Corporate Headquarters in Israel, in ROBO's own Building... This figure does NOT INCLUDE any potential income derived from MemCall... This equate to about 25 cents/share and a PE between 100 and 150, to reflect the enormous potential of MemCall, would lead to a projected share price of $25.00 to $37.00, my Primary Target...

However, if one looks at AKAM, a Company specializing in increasing the speed of Internet, with a $15 Billions Market Cap, $4 millions in revenue and $56 millions in Losses, one would probably conclude that MemCall could well drive ROBO's Market Cap to a mere $1 Billion... This could then result in my Secondary Target, a share price of about: $85.00...

quote.yahoo.com

7) Disclaimer:

This is only the personal opinion of a potentially biased long, not a recommendation and no responsibility is accepted for errors or omissions... Would-be investors should carry out extensive Due Diligence and only invest what they can afford to lose...

JMHO, F. Goelo + + +



To: debra vogt who wrote (96)3/31/2000 10:09:00 AM
From: Francois Goelo  Respond to of 113
 
ROBO: NET+194%... Eshed Robotec (1982) Limited - the Company Reports an Increase of 194% in the Net Profit for the Year 1999...

ROSH HA'AYIN, Israel, March 31 /PRNewswire/ -- Eshed Robotec (1982) Limited (the ``Company') (Nasdaq: ROBO - news) today announced that its net profit for the fourth quarter of 1999 was US$ 520,000 compared with net profit of US$ 332,000 in the fourth quarter of 1998.

The Company's net profit for the year ended December 31, 1999 was US$ 408,000 (US$ 0.04 per share) as compared with US$ 139,000 (US$ 0.01 per share) in 1998.

The Company's sales in the fourth quarter of 1999 totaled US$ 3.7 million, a decrease of 47% from US$ 7.0 million in the fourth quarter of 1998.

Sales in 1999 decreased 35% to US$ 13.6 million from US$ 20.9 million in 1998. The decrease in sales was mainly due to a decrease in sales of computer solutions, due to the completion of a computerization project for the Israeli Ministry of Education.

In spite of the decrease in the Company's annual sales, gross profit increased as a result of an improved product mix with higher gross profit, by US$ 300,000 to US$ 6.2 million compared with US$ 5.9 million in 1998.

The Company's operating expenses increased by US$ 400,000 to US$ 5.7 million in 1999.

Operating profit decreased 14% to US$ 544,000 (US$ 0.05 per share) in 1999 compared to US$ 631,000 (US$ 0.06 per share) in 1998.

Income from rentals and from the company's securities portfolio resulted in a US$ 269,000. -- or 194% increase in the company's net profit to US$ 408,000.

During March 2000, the Company completed a US$ 1 million private placement with New York-based Kinetics Mutual Fund Inc, which includes The Internet Fund (WWWFX) and associated Internet and biotech growth funds. The company issued 90,539 treasury shares in the transaction, which shares are subject to a one-year lock-up period.

Eshed Robotec (1982) Ltd. is one of the world leaders in the field of automation training and education. The Company's products are sold worldwide in technical schools, universities and industry. The Company designs, manufactures, markets and supports a complete range of solutions for teaching subjects in the field of Automated Manufacturing Technologies. These products include software, hardware and multimedia curriculum for courses in fluid power, process control, robotics, Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM) and other subjects.

To the extent that this press release discusses expectations about market conditions or about market acceptance and future sales of the Company's products, or otherwise makes statements about the future, such statements are forward-looking and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause results to differ materially from the statements made. These factors include the rapidly changing technology and evolving standards in the industries in which the Company and its subsidiaries operate, risks associated with the acceptance of new products by individual customers and by the market place and other factors discussed in the business description and management discussion and analysis sections of the Company's Annual Report on Form F-20.

For further information, contact Ms. Anat Katz, CFO, at + 972 3 9004155 or at email: anatk@robotec.co.il.

Consolidated Balance Sheet

Dec 31, 1999 Dec 31, 1998
US dollars in thousands
Assets
Current assets
Cash and cash equivalents 1,937 2,538
Short term investments 628 419
Customers 4,825 8,025
Receivables and debit balances 953 919
Inventories 1,989 2,426
10,332 14,327

Long term investments and receivables
Customers 344 615
Investments in other companies 108 --
452 615

Fixed assets 7,662 7,213
Other assets 80 89

18,526 22,244
Current liabilities
Credit from bank corporations 581 6,108
Trade payables 2,611 5,733
Other payables and credit balances 1,601 1,800
4,793 13,643

Long term liabilities
Long term bank loans 4,665 101
Liability for termination
of employee/employer relationship 929 894
5,594 995

Shareholders' equity

Share capital and capital surplus 10,310 10,146
Accumulated earnings (deficit) (1,589) (1,966)
8,721 8,180
Loans guaranteed by shares (312) (308)
Treasury stock (270) (266)
8,139 7,606

18,526 22,244

Consolidated Profit & Loss

Year ended Quarter ended
Dec 31, Dec 31, Dec 31, Dec 31,
1999 1998 1999 1998
US dollars in thousands

Revenues, net 13,636 20,876 3,722 7,003
Cost of revenues 7,429 14,984 1,658 4,823
Gross profit 6,207 5,892 2,064 2,180

Operating expenses
Research and
development, net 1,361 1,129 272 345
Marketing and
selling expenses 2,522 2,583 680 702
Administrative
and general expenses 1,783 1,549 737 452
5,666 5,261 1,689 1,499

Operating Income 541 631 375 681

Financial income
(expenses) net (376) (295) (25) (277)
Other income (expenses) 334 (104) 247 (25)
Investment write-off -- (95) -- (95)
Income before
taxes on income 499 137 597 284

Tax saving
(taxes on income) (20) 2 (20) 48
Income before
Company's portion of
results of
investee companies 479 139 577 332
Company's portion of
profits (losses) of
investee companies (71) -- (57) --
Net income 408 139 520 332

Net income per share 0.04 0.01 0.05 0.03

1. The financial statements at December 31, 1999 have been translated into
US dollars solely for the convenience of the American reader. This
translation was made at the US dollar to the New Israeli Shekel
exchange rate in effect on the mentioned date, that is, US$ 1 = NIS
4.153.

2. The net income per share for the reported periods in these reports has
been calculated in accordance with generally accepted accounting
principles in Israel and USA.



To: debra vogt who wrote (96)4/1/2000 1:27:00 AM
From: Francois Goelo  Respond to of 113
 
Correction to DD Post on ROBO and Up-Date...

I had recently mentioned that ROBO sold 84,000 shares @ $11.90, when in fact, it was 90,539 shares for $1 million, or about $11.00 a share, as disclosed in the last PR... I e-mailed the Research Post to Rafael Avarot in Israel for comments and/or correction of any potentially erroneous facts and, so far haven't received a reply, one way or another...

biz.yahoo.com

I coined the phrase: "Architecture for Accelerated Information Retrieval", or the acronym: "AAIR" and wonder if it'll find acceptance with ROBO or anyone else, for that matter... The slide in price was actually minimal and could be expected, as many investors sell on the news, as a matter of principle...

Compared to my notes from the previous 10Q, I am pleased to see a substantial increase in the value of Assets, from $17.4 Millions to $18.5 Millions, while Liabilities also increased marginally, from $10 Millions to $10.4 Millions, resulting in a net improvement of $700K... When related to the $13.6 Millions in Revenue and $520K Earnings, the increase in net Asset is significant...

This compares well with AKAM, which has Revenue of $4 millions and Losses of $56 Millions, BUT a $15 Billions Market cap, compared to $94.4 Millions for ROBO... While AKAM has much more Net assets, a quick comparison of Market Cap/Net Asset ratio shows that ROBO is about 1/5 that of AKAM...

JMHO, F. Goelo + + +



To: debra vogt who wrote (96)4/2/2000 11:28:00 AM
From: Bruce Denney  Respond to of 113
 
debra...appreciate the news, thanks.
BD