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| SINGAPORE, May 7
/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Creative Technology Ltd. (Nasdaq: CREAF), the worldwide leader
in digital entertainment products for PC users, today announced financial results for the
third quarter of fiscal year 2003, ended March 31, 2003. All financial results are stated
in U.S. dollars. Sales for the third quarter were $160.6 million, in line with the Company's guidance. This compares to sales of $193.4 million for the same quarter of last year. Creative achieved net income for the third quarter of $4.8 million, and earnings per share met the Company's expectations at $0.06. This compares to last year's third quarter net income of $15.2 million and EPS of $0.20. Sales for the first nine months of fiscal year 2003 were $552.2 million, compared to $623.3 million for the same period last year. Net income for the first nine months of fiscal 2003 was $18.8 million or $0.23 per share, compared to net income of $28.6 million or $0.38 per share for the same period last year. Net income for the first nine months of fiscal 2003 includes net investment losses of $6.1 million or $0.07 per share. Net income for the first nine months of the previous year includes net investment losses of $15.6 million or $0.21 per share. "Based on strong sales of our PDE products including our Nomad® MP3 players and Webcams, we were able to achieve our guidance for revenue and EPS in a challenging quarter for the retail market," said Craig McHugh, president of Creative Labs, Inc. "The sales from our PDE products were up more than 80% from the previous year and helped offset declines in our low end sound card business. Overall, sales of our products that are outside the PC represented more than 50% of revenues in the period." "I am excited about the growth in our PDE products, as I believe it reflects the much larger market opportunity we have in the future as we continue to expand our product offerings outside of the PC," said Sim Wong Hoo, chairman and CEO of Creative Technology. "We believe we are well-positioned in the high-growth MP3 market where we are the leader, having sold a cumulative total of more than one million NOMAD Jukeboxes and NOMAD MP3 digital audio players. We also see the potential to increase our market share in digital cameras and speakers. And with the introduction this week of the USB Sound Blaster® MP3+, we have added a low-priced offering that can enable mass market PCs to upgrade easily to premium sound." Flow Back Restriction to Commence on June 1, 2003 In a separate press release on April 25, 2003, Creative announced that the previously announced Flow Back Restriction will commence on June 1, 2003. Share Buyback Program During the quarter, Creative did not repurchase any shares under its share buyback program. Recent Announcements
Awards & Accolades
-- The Creative MegaWorks(R) THX(R) 6.1 650 speaker system won:
- The "ExtremeTech Approved" award from Ziff-Davis ExtremeTech
-- The Creative I-Trigue 2.1 3300 speaker system won:
- The "Editor's Choice" award from Computer Games magazine
-- The Creative Inspire(R) 6.1 6600 speaker system won:
- The "Editor's Choice" award from globetechnology.com
-- The Sound Blaster Audigy(TM) 2 Platinum sound card won:
- The "Hot Pick" award from Computer Source magazine
-- The NOMAD Jukebox Zen portable audio player won:
- A "5 out of 5" rating from TechEdge magazine
- A "5 out of 5" rating from Laptop magazine
-- The NOMAD Jukebox 3 portable audio player won:
- The "Editor's Choice" award from DV(R) magazine
-- The Creative CardCam(TM) won:
- The "Editor's Choice" award from TechEdge magazine
-- The Creative PC-CAM 600 won:
- The "Good Design" award from the Chicago Athenaeum Museum of
Architecture and Design
Listen to Creative's Q3 FY03 Analyst Conference Call:
Link to the Q3 earnings conference call live on May 7th at 8:00 p.m. Eastern
via Creative's Investor Relations Web site: http:/www.creative.com/investor
or by calling 1-800-840-6219.
A replay will be available from shortly after the end of the conference call until May 14th via the same link from the IR web site or by calling 1-800-633-8284, reservation # 21142244. About Creative Creative is a worldwide leader in digital entertainment products for PC users. Famous for its Sound Blaster audio cards and for launching the multimedia revolution, Creative is now driving digital entertainment on the PC platform with products like its highly acclaimed NOMAD Jukebox. Creative's innovative hardware, proprietary technology, applications and services leverage the Internet, enabling consumers to experience high-quality digital entertainment -- anytime, anywhere. This announcement refers to products and pricing sold in the United States of America. Pricing and product availability are subject to change without notice. Sound Blaster, I-Trigue, Creative TravelSound, MegaWorks, Creative Inspire, Audigy, MuVo and Creative CardCam are trademarks or registered trademarks of Creative Technology Ltd. in the United States and/or other countries. 3Dlabs and Wildcat are registered trademarks of 3Dlabs, Inc. Ltd. NOMAD is a registered trademark of Aonix and is used by Creative Technology Ltd. and/or its affiliates under license. Apple and iPod are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. All other brand and product names are trademarks of their respective holder and are hereby recognized as such. Safe Harbor for Forward-Looking Statements Under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Except for the historical information contained herein and in the corresponding conference call, the matters set forth in this release and in the call are forward-looking statements and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. Such risks and uncertainties include: Creative's ability to timely develop new products that gain market acceptance and to manage frequent product transitions; competitive pressures in the marketplace; Creative's ability to successfully integrate acquisitions; potential fluctuations in quarterly results due to the seasonality of Creative's business and the difficulty of projecting such fluctuations; possible disruption in commercial activities caused by factors outside of Creative's control, such as terrorism, armed conflict and labor disputes; a reduction in demand for computer systems, peripherals and related consumer products as a result of poor economic conditions, social and political turmoil and major health concerns, such as the spread of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS; the proliferation of sound functionality in new products from competitors at the application software, chip and operating system levels; the failure of cost-cutting measures to achieve anticipated cost reduction benefits; the continued deterioration of global equity markets; increased exposure to excess and obsolete inventory; Creative's reliance on sole sources for many of its chips and other key components; component shortages which may impact Creative's ability to meet customer demand; Creative's ability to protect its proprietary rights; a reduction or cancellation of sales orders for Creative products or other unexpected or unplanned events that could cause Creative to miss its revenue guidance, operating expense projections or negatively impact its margins; accelerated declines in the average selling prices of Creative's products; the vulnerability of certain markets to current and future currency fluctuations; the effects of restricted fuel availability and rising costs of fuel; fluctuations in the value and liquidity of Creative's investee companies; and the potential decrease in the trading volume and value of Creative's Ordinary Shares as a result of Creative's intended delisting from NASDAQ and elimination of its U.S. public reporting obligations. For further information regarding the risks and uncertainties associated with Creative's business, please refer to its filings with the SEC, including its Form 20-F for fiscal 2002 filed with the SEC. Creative undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to conform the statement to actual results or changes in Creative's expectations. CREATIVE TECHNOLOGY LTD.
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(In US$' 000)
(Unaudited)
March 31, June 30,
2003 2002
ASSETS
Current Assets:
Cash and cash equivalents $201,867 $166,917
Marketable equity securities 725 1,388
Accounts receivable, net 63,454 85,193
Inventory 100,061 108,549
Other assets and prepaids 13,039 17,773
Total current assets 379,146 379,820
Property and equipment, net 106,976 104,748
Investments 41,188 66,688
Other non-current assets 109,193 115,122
Total Assets $636,503 $666,378
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY
Current Liabilities:
Accounts payable $52,027 $64,809
Accrued liabilities 83,386 77,831
Income taxes payable 35,749 43,794
Current portion of long term obligations
and others 6,169 27,441
Total current liabilities 177,331 213,875
Long term obligations 42,959 16,782
Minority interest in subsidiaries 3,442 11,769
Shareholders' equity 412,771 423,952
Total Liabilities and Shareholders' Equity $636,503 $666,378
CREATIVE TECHNOLOGY LTD.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(In US$' 000, except per share data)
(Unaudited)
Three months ended Nine months ended
March 31, March 31,
2003 2002 2003 2002
Sales, net $160,617 $193,385 $552,180 $623,333
Cost of goods sold 104,365 129,209 356,164 421,091
Gross profit 56,252 64,176 196,016 202,242
Operating expenses:
Selling, general and
administrative 37,379 38,737 128,573 127,307
Research and
development 14,646 8,412 43,192 27,500
Total operating
expenses 52,025 47,149 171,765 154,807
Operating income 4,227 17,027 24,251 47,435
Gain (loss) from
investments, net 85 128 (6,059) (15,569)
Interest income and
other, net 886 151 2,892 2,866
Income before income
taxes and minority
interest 5,198 17,306 21,084 34,732
Provision for income
taxes (423) (1,703) (2,425) (4,686)
Minority interest
in loss (income) 73 (423) 91 (1,407)
Net income $4,848 $15,180 $18,750 $28,639
Basic earnings
per share: $0.06 $0.21 $0.24 $0.39
Weighted average
ordinary shares
outstanding ('000) 79,377 72,134 79,093 72,784
Diluted earnings
per share: $0.06 $0.20 $0.23 $0.38
Weighted average
ordinary shares 80,557 76,323 80,833 74,704
and equivalents
outstanding ('000)
Source: Creative Technology Ltd. |
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