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Unusual publicity welcome Wescam logo clearly visible in bin Laden video Dana Flavelle BUSINESS REPORTER Mark Chamberlain was 15 minutes into a conference call with financial analysts when a colleague handed him a note informing him an image of his company's equipment was being broadcast around the globe as part of a videotape featuring Osama bin Laden. The controversial tape, aired by CNN, featured bin Laden and his supporters laughing about the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. It also included footage of a downed U.S. helicopter that had been equipped with a surveillance camera made by Chamberlain's Burlington-based company, Wescam Inc. A fragment of the camera, bearing the Wescam logo, was clearly visible in the wreckage. For Chamberlain, the unexpected dose of international publicity couldn't have come at a better time. Global demand for the type of equipment Wescam makes has soared since Sept. 11, though how much of that business will come Wescam's way remains to be seen, a typically cautious Chamberlain told analysts yesterday. The company is a relatively small player in a highly competitive market. So, a little additional global exposure, however inadvertent, couldn't hurt, Chamberlain said in an interview later, even if it was in association with the West's most wanted terrorist. "The fact that it happens to be on TV in a high-profile event highlights the fact that our equipment is being used to fight terrorism," Chamberlain said. Chamberlain said he'd received more than 100 e-mails and phone calls by noon yesterday from people who'd seen the bin Laden tape. The company's sales growth eased off last year after two previous years of red-hot growth, due partly to a slump in demand for its commercial products, which include airborne cameras used by broadcasters to televise remote news and sports events. The company's total sales for the year rose 3 per cent to $166.4 million, versus the previous year's 31 per cent sales growth. Sales to government agencies of equipment used in surveillance and security activities accounted for $124 million of the total for the year. Fourth quarter sales, always the company's best, rose 26 per cent to a record $55.4 million, it said. The results allayed the company's earlier fears that its government customers would be too distracted by the events of Sept. 11 to finalize their contracts with the company before its Oct. 31 fiscal year end, Chamberlain said. Sales by its commercial division were hurt all year by a weak economy, which dampened demand from broadcasters, and post-Sept. 11 restrictions on flights over major U.S. cities, which restricted airborne law enforcement and news gathering activities, the company told analysts. Wescam, which employs 550 people, had to cut 10 to 12 managerial jobs in its commercial division during the year and redeployed some of the other staff to its busier government division, Chamberlain said. Net earnings for the year rose 21 per cent to $9.6 million, or 60 cents a share, due to higher revenue, improved productivity and lower tax rates, the company said. Looking ahead, Wescam said it is waiting for the U.S. government to finalize its defence budget, likely in January, before making any predictions about next year. The number of calls the company has received about its equipment since Sept. 11 has more than doubled, Chamberlain said, but he declined to predict how many of those would turn into sales. The company's stock, which is up 22 per cent for the year, closed 8 cents higher at $6.05 in Toronto yesterday. thestar.com | ||||||||||||||
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