Third Quater Resultshttps://biz.yahoo.com/ccn/041104/8218de770993a47db389dfd1f29c9860_1.html
Sirit Inc. Announces Results For Third Quarter
Thursday November 4, 7:02 am ET
TORONTO, ONTARIO--(CCNMatthews - Nov. 4, 2004) -
SCM revenue growth continues; Investments in operations position Company for further growth
SIRIT Inc. (TSX:SI - News), a leading provider of radio frequency identification (RFID) hardware technology, today reported its financial results for the third quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2004. All amounts are noted in Canadian Dollars.
Q3 2004 Highlights
- Total revenue of $5.2 million, an increase of 13.8% from the same period in 2003
- Increasing mix of SCM product sales results in gross margin 43.3%
- Operating loss and net loss for the quarter of ($0.6 million), which includes a $0.4 million foreign exchange loss due to the strengthening of the Canadian dollar during the period
- Shipments began of ST 200 dual OEM reader module; secured $12.0 million order which will begin shipping January 2005 over 3 years; AVIDWireless adopted ST 200 reader module for integration in their AVIDirector; Data Ltd Inc. announced integration of ST 200 into three new mobile solutions
William Staudt, President and CEO, SIRIT Inc. commented, "Following a successful first half of the year, SIRIT continues to deliver solid revenue results. Consistent with our stated strategy, we have made significant investments in our development and sales teams which will position us to meet the increasing demands for our technology worldwide. These investments, combined with encouraging sales of our LF, HF and UHF offerings to our OEM and integrator customers, have resulted in SIRIT products being positioned in a significant number of RFID pilots, tests and trials."
For the third quarter ended September 30, 2004, SIRIT reported revenue of $5.2 million, which represents a 13.8% growth over the third quarter in the previous year. Gross margin for the quarter was 43.3%, up slightly from 41.2% for the second quarter in 2004 and up significantly from 36.4% for the same quarter in 2003.
Expenses in the third quarter increased as a result of investments made by the Company in research and development, sales and marketing as well as the impact from foreign exchange fluctuations. As a result, the Company recorded both an operating and net loss of ($0.6 million) or ($0.01) per share in the third quarter of 2003. This is compared to an operating loss of ($0.2 million) and net loss of ($1.5 million) or ($0.03) per share in the previous year. The Company intends to make further investments in research and development, sale and marketing to complete its global team of professionals to capitalize on opportunities for growth in Supply Chain Management and other RFID markets.
Revenue for the nine months ended September 30, 2004 totaled $15.6 million, a 15.4% increase over revenue of $13.5 million for the same period in the prior year.
The 88% increase in Supply Chain Management revenue for the nine months ended September 30, 2004 as compared to September 30, 2003 is a result of marketing efforts throughout the first nine months of 2004 which have begun to translate into sales. Revenue from the Company's Automatic Vehicle Identification business was up approximately 8% over the prior year as the Company witnessed inherent growth in Toll Solutions sales from its well established customer base.
The Company had net income from continuing operations for the nine months ended September 30, 2004 of $1.8 million or $0.02 per share, compared with a net loss from continuing operations of ($2.9 million) or ($0.06) per share for the same period in 2003.
As of September 30, 2004, cash and cash equivalents totaled $10.3 million excluding a bid bond deposit of $0.8 million which was returned to the Company on October 5, 2004, resulting in cash on that date of approximately $11.1 million compared to the cash position of $11.3 million at the end of June 30, 2004. The Company's working capital position was $11.9 million at September 30, 2004 as compared to $12.1 million at June 30, 2004.
Conference Call & Webcast
SIRIT will host a conference call to discuss the quarterly results on Thursday, November 4, 2004 at 10:00 am EDT. The conference call will be Webcast over the Internet and accessible at www.sirit.com and www.financialdisclosure.ca.
About SIRIT Inc.
Founded in 1993, SIRIT Inc. (TSX:SI - News) is a leading provider of Radio Frequency Identification ("RFID") solutions to customers worldwide. The company designs, manufactures, integrates and sells RFID solutions with an emphasis in several vertical markets including Supply Chain Management, Product Authentication, Asset Tracking, Security and Access Control and Automatic Vehicle Identification. Building upon years of success deploying traditional RFID products, SIRIT continues to capitalize on the growing demand for next generation RFID solutions. For more information on SIRIT visit www.sirit.com or call 1-800-498-8760.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements
Safe Harbor Statement under the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Except for the statements of historical fact contained herein, the information presented constitutes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievement of SIRIT to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements as a result of risks and uncertainties impacting SIRIT's business which are discussed in the section entitled "Narrative Description of the Business - Risks" in SIRIT's Annual Information Form dated Ma
rch 19, 2004 as filed with the securities regulatory authorities in Canada via SEDAR. Although SIRIT has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended.
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