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Non-Tech : Any info about Iomega (IOM)? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jambo who wrote (52778)	4/16/1998 7:50:00 PM
From: KM	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 58324

BEAR HUNT! Bear Hunt: Update: Iomega Comes in Below Diminished Expectations By Eric Moskowitz Staff Reporter 4/16/98 5:18 PM ET It's all Zip drives these days, and that's the problem. Iomega (IOM:NYSE) reported a loss of 7 cents a share today for its March quarter, compared with a profit of 8 cents a share in its year-ago quarter. Consensus estimates called for a loss of 6 cents a share. While Iomega reported that its Zip drive sales were up 61% over last year's first quarter, its new Jaz drive sales were flat. The company said in a release that it expects to post small losses or breakeven results in its next two quarters, and then return to profitability in the fourth quarter. The disk drive maker also announced that former CEO Kim Edwards was resigning from Iomega's board of directors following the company's annual shareholders meeting later this month. The following earnings preview was originally posted at 1:04 p.m. ***** Iomega (IOM:NYSE) reports after today's close and expectations couldn't be lower. For the first time in three years, the company is expected to report a loss, and its highflying CEO, Kim Edwards, has recently departed. "The company is hurting from a combination of a shortfall in sales and an increase in incremental ad spending," says Glenn Hanus, an analyst with Needham who lowered his rating to a hold in December. Some of the sales shortfall has more to do with an increase in sales for its main competitor, Syquest Technology (SYQT:Nasdaq), says Hanus, than anything else. "I've been hearing from stores that the sales momentum for Syquest's SparQ and SyJet drives has been favorable." (Hanus hasn't participated in any of Iomega's public offerings.) <Picture> Now that Edwards is out, it not only leaves a vacuum at the top, but it creates a quandary for Iomega: What should it do about its ad budget? Edwards was a great marketer, and he had allocated $100 million for ads this fiscal year to promote the company's new one-gig Jaz drives. The ad campaign, however, was not going that well and was overshadowed by a resurgence in Syquest's comparable SparQ drive. When TSC last profiled the company, Iomega made it clear that its ad spending was hurting the company's bottom line. That was one of the main reasons it gave for pushing down Street expectations for its March quarter. Before the company preannounced a month ago, analysts had hoped for a 9-cent-per-share March quarter, the same number it posted in 1997's first quarter. Now, consensus estimates call for a 6-cent-per-share loss for the struggling disk-drive maker. Iomega's stock also hasn't been helped by the ad campaign, which began with four $1 million-plus spots at the Super Bowl at the end of January. The shares are down 41% year-to-date. It will be interesting to see what Iomega management have to say about the ad budget at the conference call this

To: Jambo who wrote (52778)	4/16/1998 8:11:00 PM
From: Reseller	Read Replies (4) \| Respond to of 58324

It's the Sales.. First quarter revenue of $408 million !.. I didn't expect sales to be so strong and with confirmation that these sales were sell thru sales not sell in sales. 50 % of the sales to OEM customers however the five largest OEM's sales accounting for 40% of the OEM sales, the largest box makers ( the white box makers ) have adopted Zip by installing the other 60%of the overall OEM sales. All the little guys are putting Zip in as well . This conference call was a lot better than the last with access to the different players of the company. It looks like these are the guys that got into the life boats and pulled it out, with Zip units up 61% and total revenue up 13% and restated the goal of making Zip the standard drive. Tighter controls were initiated with a build to order system, legal entanglements that are holding Nomai at bay and directives to bring SG&A in line. This was not the disaster that the bears are looking for. The street factored in a worse quarter than this. Staying long liking what I'm seeing. Reseller