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To: Sully- who wrote (8600)	10/18/2000 4:30:35 PM
From: Sully-	Respond to of 65232

Wednesday October 18, 4:21 pm Eastern Time Press Release Rambus Reports Record Royalties, Revenue and Earnings for the Quarter and Year Ended September 30, 2000 Fiscal Q4 Royalties Triple Sequentially to $19.9 Million MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 18, 2000-- Q4 earnings announcement call live on website (www.rambus.com) at 2:00 p.m. PDT. Conference call replay number 800-633-8284, reservation no. 16570257; replay also available on website. Replay available for 72 hours, beginning at 4:00 p.m. PDT. Rambus Inc. (Nasdaq:RMBS - news) today reported financial results for its fourth fiscal quarter and year ended September 30, 2000. Revenues for the quarter were a record $26.9 million, up 119% over the same period last year and up 52% from the previous quarter. For the full fiscal year the Company reported revenues of $72.3 million, an increase of 67% from the previous year. Included in fourth quarter results was a record $19.9 million in royalties, more than three times the amount reported in the previous quarter. The fourth quarter results included both increased royalties received from licensees based on their shipments of RDRAMs and controllers that connect to RDRAMs (RDRAM-compatible ICs) as well as the first royalties from licensees for the use of Rambus intellectual property (IP) in SDRAMs, DDR SDRAMs and controllers that connect to them (SDRAM-compatible ICs). Royalties for the fiscal year were $32.6 million, more than four times the amount recorded in fiscal 1999. Contract revenue for the fourth fiscal quarter was $7.0 million, down $4.2 million from the previous quarter. The previous quarter results included approximately $3.7 million of deferred revenue recognized due to the cancellation of contracts of certain licensees who are reducing their activities in the DRAM market. No such revenue from contract cancellations was recognized in the fourth quarter. For the fiscal year, contract revenue was $39.7 million, an increase of 12% from fiscal 1999. Excluding acquisition-related costs, one-time employee compensation expenses taken earlier in the year and a one-time tax adjustment, pro forma operating income for the fourth quarter was $14.5 million, compared to $3.4 million in the same period last year and $6.0 million in the previous quarter. On the same basis, pro forma operating income for the fiscal year was $28.4 million compared to $9.5 million in fiscal 1999. Excluding acquisition-related costs, one-time employee compensation expenses and a one-time tax adjustment, fourth quarter pro forma net income was a record $10.2 million ($0.09 per diluted share), up 285% from the same period last year and up 115% from the previous quarter. On the same basis, pro forma net income for fiscal 2000 was $21.5 million ($0.20 per diluted share), an increase of 147% over fiscal 1999. All per-share numbers have been adjusted for a four-for-one stock split effective June 14, 2000. ``We are obviously very pleased with our financial performance in fiscal 2000 and especially in the fourth quarter,'' said Geoff Tate, CEO of Rambus Inc. ``The tremendous leveraging impact of receiving royalties--from the sale of both RDRAM-compatible and SDRAM-compatible ICs--on our financial model can be seen both in our operating statement, where our operating margin in fiscal Q4 exceeded 50% for the first time, and on the balance sheet where our total cash balances increased by $35 million during the quarter to a total of $132 million. We are confident in our long term outlook: our patent position is strong and RDRAMs offer the best solution for high performance computer, communications and consumer systems. However, near-term earnings growth will depend on the ramps of the Sony PlayStation2 into the U.S. and the Intel Pentium 4, the relative price of RDRAMs to SDRAMs and the timing of additional licensees for the use of our IP in SDRAM-compatible ICs. In addition, we anticipate increased costs in the near term due to our vigorous legal defense of our IP and a move to larger facilities for long-term growth.'' Because of its continued and growing profitability, the Company determined that it would likely be able to take advantage of its deferred tax assets and therefore booked a $38 million credit to income tax expense in the fourth quarter to eliminate a partial valuation allowance against the deferred tax assets. Rambus Inc. develops and licenses high-bandwidth chip connection technologies to enhance the performance of computers, consumer electronics and communications products. Providers of Rambus-based integrated circuits include the world's leading DRAM, ASIC and PC controller manufacturers. This release contains forward-looking statements regarding financial results for future periods. Actual results could differ materially. Among the factors which could cause results to differ materially is the possibility that the Pentium 4 and PlayStation2 ramps will be slower than expected, that shipment of Rambus ICs and other licensed products by Rambus licensees will be below forecast, that no additional licenses for SDRAM-compatible ICs will be signed, that prices of RDRAMs will remain high compared to SDRAMs and that litigation and building costs will exceed the Company's plans. <snip> biz.yahoo.com Ö¿Ö