|
|
| Sound News | Press
Releases | Archives | Week In
Review | Editorials
| Articles | |
|
![]() |
|
||||
|
|||||
| SINGAPORE, Aug. 5
/PRNewswire/ -- Creative Technology Ltd. (Nasdaq: CREAF - news), the leading provider of multimedia
products for personal computers, today announced financial results for the fourth quarter
and fiscal year ended June 30, 1999. Sales for the fourth
quarter of fiscal 1999 were US$275.1 million as compared to US$253.0 million for the same
quarter last year. Sales for fiscal 1999 were US$1.297 billion as compared to US$1.234
billion for 1998. The quarterly and yearly results were:
* Net income for the fourth quarter was US$14.7 million, compared to
US$4.8 million for the same quarter last year.
* Earnings per share for the fourth quarter were US$0.17 per share,
compared to US$0.05 per share for the same quarter last year.
* Net income for the fiscal year 1999 was US$115.1 million, compared to
US$134.8 million for the same period last year.
* Earnings per share for the fiscal year at US$1.25, compared to
US$1.42 for the previous fiscal year.
Please note that the results for the fourth quarter of fiscal 1999 include a gain of US$12.6 million from the sale of quoted investments. Comparative results for fiscal 1998 include: a gain of US$18.5 million from the sale of quoted investments in the first quarter of fiscal 1998; one-time write-offs totaling US$60.3 million for in-process technology related to acquisitions in the second quarter of fiscal 1998; and a one-time write-off of US$8.3 million relating to the cessation of certain activities in the fourth quarter of fiscal 1998. ``Although we reported earnings per share in line with expectations, end-of-life graphics products hurt our performance, and our operating income this quarter was a disappointment,'' said Craig McHugh, President of Creative Labs, Inc. ``Consolidation in the graphics market and drastic price reductions on certain graphics products impacted our margins and, in addition, cost us eleven cents per share in charges related to these products during the quarter. We are taking strong steps to improve our results, including moving low-margin products to a direct e-commerce model -- reducing expenses and inventory exposure. This will allow us to turn what have been bad businesses into good businesses.'' ``While we had a very challenging quarter, we made tremendous progress on our Internet and PDE initiatives,'' said Sim Wong Hoo, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Creative Technology Ltd. ``Among the steps we've already taken are eight completed investments in Internet/broadband companies, a number of soon-to-be-closed similar investments, the development of two very exciting products in our PDE area, and plans for an aggressive transformation of our business model to accelerate these opportunities. I am pleased to announce today that, to assist in this transformation, I have promoted Hock Leow, a Silicon Valley veteran, to Chief Technology Officer, leading our 600-strong worldwide R&D effort. Hock will continue to be based in California.'' The Year in Review -- Business Developments & Success Highlights
* Creative was honored as the overall Number One winner as the most
desired IT brand in the German marketplace, placing ahead of perennial
favorites Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Microsoft, Nokia and Siemens.
* Creative launched NOMAD -- a highly-anticipated portable digital audio
player that made headlines on top TV news programs and in mainstream
publications like Newsweek, the New York Times, Rolling Stone, Fortune,
Wired and GQ as well as major Japanese and Latin American magazines and
newspapers.
* Creative's speaker products achieved the number one market share
position in U.S. retail in May, 1999, according to PC Data. During the
year, Creative announced breakthrough digital multi-point surround
speaker systems -- the Four Point Surround 2000 and Desktop
Theater 5.1 2500.
* Creative announced the company's entry into the broadband market with
upcoming ADSL solutions based on chipsets from Centillium and Lucent
Technologies.
* Creative announced design wins for Sound Blaster Live! Value sound cards
with key OEMs including Compaq, Dell, Gateway and Micron.
* Creative also announced that Gateway began shipping its Cambridge
SoundWorks-designed speaker systems.
* Creative's Environmental Audio garnered tremendous support from top game
developers. Over 50 leading game titles are now shipping with support
for Environmental Audio. In addition, Microsoft licensed Environmental
Audio effects for inclusion in an upcoming version of DirectX.
* Creative launched an innovative cinema-centered marketing campaign
titled, The Difference Will Amaze You. The new campaign was designed to
reach mainstream PC customers, build awareness for the Creative brand in
the home, and encourage word-of-mouth marketing for Creative's products.
The Difference Will Amaze You campaign was kicked-off in over
1,600 United Artist theaters across the United States with a commercial
produced in full Dolby DigitalO, surround-sound technology. It
continues to show before this summer's blockbuster films. The ongoing
campaign includes print and on-line advertising and will focus on
Creative's top solutions for personal digital entertainment.
Safe Harbor Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 Except for the historical information contained herein or in the accompanying conference call, the statements herein and in the call (including information on future products, future marketing efforts, and future revenues, margins, expenses and earnings) are forward looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in the forward looking statements. Such statements are subject to the attached cautionary statements which are provided pursuant to The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Creative Technology Ltd. develops, manufactures and markets a wide array of advanced multimedia solutions for the PC, entertainment, education, music and productivity tools markets. Creative's products are marketed through the OEM, systems integrator and retail channels under a variety of trademarks, including the ``Blaster'' family name. With the new Sound Blaster® PCI standard, Creative has produced a solution that utilizes a combination of hardware and software for near-perfect compatibility with existing DOS and Windows titles. Creative's corporate headquarters and primary manufacturing are based in Singapore, with sales, distribution and research and development being carried out through an extensive, global network of subsidiaries located in North America, Europe, Asia and Africa. NOTE: Sound Blaster and Blaster are registered trademarks and PC-DVD Encore, DeskTop Theater, 3D Blaster and Graphics Blaster are trademarks of Creative Technology Ltd. Cambridge SoundWorks is a registered trademark of Cambridge SoundWorks, Inc. All other products mentioned herein are trademarks of their respective owners and are hereby recognized as such. Safe Harbor for Forward Looking Statements: Except for the historical information contained herein and in the accompanying conference call on today's date, the matters set forth herein and in the accompanying conference call (including our projections on future market valuations and our guidance on future revenues, margins, expenses and earnings) are forward looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in the forward looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, among others: potential fluctuations in quarterly results due to the seasonality of Creative's business and the difficulty of projecting such fluctuations; reductions in the market value of products sold by Creative, including increases in supply or declines in demand or prices for CD-ROM or DVD drives, board and chip-level products, and software products; the short product cycles that characterize most of Creative's products; the increasing proliferation of sound functionality at the chip and operating system levels; Creative's reliance on sole sources for many of its chips and other key components and possible limitations on future availability of graphics chips, memory chips, and passive components used in Creative products; the timely ramp, delivery and market acceptance of new products, including Creative's next generation audio, graphics accelerator, CD-ROM and DVD drives and communications products; the volatility of share prices for companies in Creative's industry and the effect of those prices or other events beyond Creative's control; and other risk factors described in Creative's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission over the past twelve months. CREATIVE TECHNOLOGY LTD.
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(In US$' 000, except per share data)
(Unaudited)
June 30, June 30,
1999 1998
ASSETS
Current Assets:
Cash and cash equivalents $318,990 $417,262
Accounts receivable, less allowances of
$12,721 and $14,074 130,144 115,930
Inventory 148,028 144,320
Other assets and prepaids 12,709 10,180
Total current assets 609,871 687,692
Property and equipment, net 97,961 100,767
Investments and other non-current assets 97,857 76,654
$805,689 $865,113
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY
Current Liabilities:
Accounts payable $101,666 $90,544
Other accrued liabilities 55,684 61,381
Income taxes payable 47,031 45,002
Current portion of long term obligations 4,492 5,973
Total current liabilities 208,873 202,900
Long term obligations 28,642 32,277
Minority interest in subsidiaries 7,913 7,622
Shareholders' equity:
Ordinary shares ('000); S$0.25 par value;
Authorized: 200,000 shares
Outstanding: 83,971 and 92,914 shares 8,348 9,678
Additional paid-in capital 165,079 158,532
Unrealized holding gains on quoted investments 15,405 13,719
Retained earnings 371,429 440,385
Total shareholders' equity 560,261 622,314
$805,689 $865,113
CREATIVE TECHNOLOGY LTD.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
( In US$' 000, except per share data)
(Unaudited)
Three months ended Twelve months ended
June 30, June 30,
1999 1998 1999 1998
Sales, net $275,134 $253,009 $1,296,537 $1,234,208
Cost of goods sold 213,071 188,210 944,499 848,305
Gross profit 62,063 64,799 352,038 385,903
Operating expenses:
Selling, general
and administrative 47,966 43,899 209,668 162,464
Research and development 12,873 10,615 46,725 41,723
Other charges -- 8,268 -- 68,568
Total operating expenses 60,839 62,782 256,393 272,755
Operating income 1,224 2,017 95,645 113,148
Interest income
and other, net 15,050 3,172 29,669 39,652
Income before income taxes
and minority interest 16,274 5,189 125,314 152,800
Provision for income taxes (1,303) (883) (9,920) (19,805)
Minority interest
in (income) loss (235) 491 (312) 1,779
Net income $14,736 $4,797 $115,082 $134,774
Basic earnings per share: $0.17 $0.05 $1.28 $1.49
Average ordinary
shares outstanding ('000) 85,457 92,218 89,818 90,654
Diluted earnings per share: $0.17 $0.05 $1.25 $1.42
Average ordinary shares
and equivalents
outstanding ('000) 88,026 95,339 92,241 94,964
SOURCE: Creative Technology Ltd. |
![]()
|