Comverse Technology Announces Record Results For First Quarter Of Fiscal 2000:
First Quarter Earnings Per Share (Diluted) Of $0.33 Vs. $0.24;
First Quarter Sales Up 30%, Net Income Up 54% To Record Levels,
Excluding Q1 1999 One-Time Acquisition Costs Of $0.01 Per Share
WOODBURY, NY, May 31, 2000, Comverse Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:CMVT) announced for the first quarter of fiscal year 2000, ended April 30, 2000, net income growth of 54%, to a record $56,405,000 ($0.33 per diluted share), compared with $36,571,000 ($0.24 per diluted share) for the first quarter of fiscal 1999.
The Company posted record sales of $261,282,000 for the first quarter of fiscal 2000, an increase of 30% over the first quarter of fiscal 1999.
The first quarter of fiscal 1999 included a one-time after tax charge of $934,000, or $0.01 per diluted share, for acquisition-related costs. Net income for the first quarter of fiscal 1999, including the above-mentioned write-off for acquisition-related costs, was $35,637,000 ($0.23 per diluted share).
Kobi Alexander, Chairman, President and CEO of Comverse, stated, "The acceleration in our sales growth in the first quarter, reflects continued strong demand for Comverse's products, particularly among wireless network operators, which account for the majority of our sales. More than 330 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 email 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 $841,095,000, working capital of $967,581,000, total assets of $1,498,617,000 and stockholders' equity of $837,337,000, all of which represent record levels.
Financial highlights at and for the three month periods ended April 30, 2000 and prior year comparisons are as follows:
Financial Highlights (In thousands, except per share data, unaudited) Operations Data (excluding one-time acquisition charges):
Three Months Ended
April 30, 1999 April 30, 2000
Sales $ 200,507 $ 261,282
Cost of sales $ 77,427 $ 97,347
Research and development, net $ 38,417 $ 50,299
Selling, general and administrative $ 42,845 $ 54,220
Royalties and license fees $ 4,740 $ 4,880
Income from operations $ 37,078 $ 54,536
Interest and other income, net $ 3,009 $ 6,511
Income before income tax provision $ 40,087 $ 61,047
Income tax provision $ 3,516 $ 4,642
Net income $ 36,571 $ 56,405
Net income per share, diluted $ 0.24 $ 0.33
Net income per share, basic $ 0.26 $ 0.36
Note: The above amounts for the three months ended April 30, 1999 have been adjusted to eliminate the one-time acquisition-related charges of $934, net of tax, or $0.01 per diluted share.
Financial Highlights (In thousands, except per share data, unaudited) Operations Data (including one-time acquisition charges, recognized during the three months ended April 30, 1999, of $934, net of tax, or $0.01 per diluted share):
Three Months Ended
April 30, 1999 April 30, 2000
Sales $ 200,507 $ 261,282
Cost of sales $ 77,427 $ 97,347
Research and development, net $ 38,417 $ 50,299
Selling, general and administrative $ 42,845 $ 54,220
Royalties and license fees $ 4,740 $ 4,880
One-time acquisition-related charges $ 1,018 -
Income from operations $ 36,060 $ 54,536
Interest and other income, net $ 3,009 $ 6,511
Income before income tax provision $ 39,069 $ 61,047
Income tax provision $ 3,432 $ 4,642
Net income $ 35,637 $ 56,405
Net income per share, diluted $ 0.23 $ 0.33
Net income per share, basic $ 0.26 $ 0.36
Financial Highlights (In thousands) Balance Sheet Data:
ASSETS
January 31, 2000 April 30, 2000 (Unaudited)
CURRENT ASSETS:
Cash and cash equivalents $ 338,638 $ 403,304
Bank time deposits and short-term investments 439,054 437,791
Accounts receivable, net 259,357 282,830
Inventories 97,653 120,192
Prepaid expenses and other current assets 40,829 47,900
TOTAL CURRENT ASSETS 1,175,531 1,292,017
PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT, net 121,897 125,867
INVESTMENTS 19,749 30,187
OTHER ASSETS 35,191 50,546
TOTAL ASSETS $ 1,352,368 $ 1,498,617
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
CURRENT LIABILITIES:
Accounts payable and accrued expenses $ 231,245 $ 224,126
Advance payments from customers 94,171 96,806
Other current liabilities 1,289 3,504
TOTAL CURRENT LIABILITIES 326,705 324,436
CONVERTIBLE SUBORDINATED DEBENTURES 300,000 300,000
LIABILITY FOR SEVERANCE PAY 6,185 8,030
OTHER LIABILITIES 8,138 28,814
TOTAL LIABILITIES 641,028 661,280
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY:
Common stock, $0.10 par value - authorized, 300,000,000 shares; issued and outstanding, 153,822,408 and 155,444,704 shares 15,382 15,544
Additional paid-in capital 407,645 475,313
Retained earnings 285,890 342,295
Accumulated other comprehensive income 2,423 4,185
TOTAL STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY 711,340 837,337
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY $ 1,352,368 $ 1,498,617
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 330 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 email 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. |
