COMARCO reports record earnings.YORBA LINDA Yorba Linda (yôr`bə lĭn`də), city (1990 pop. 52,422), Orange co., S Calif., in a region of citrus fruit; inc. 1967. The city has grown tremendously along with the southern California area; its population increased fivefold between , Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 26, 1997--COMARCO Inc. (NASDAQ NASDAQ in full National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations U.S. market for over-the-counter securities. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), NASDAQ is an automated quotation system that reports on :CMRO CMRO Current Medical Research and Opinion (journal) CMRO Concerned Motorcycle Riders of Ohio CMRO Canadian Mud Racing Organization CMRO Certified Medical Review Officer CMRO Complex Maintenance, Repair & Overhaul ) today reported record earnings for its fourth quarter and fiscal year ended Jan. 31, 1997. Earnings per share were up 15% to $0.86 per share, while net income for the year increased 20% to $4.7 million on revenues of $71.4 million. Last year, the company reported net income of $3.9 million or $0.75 per share on revenues of $69.8 million. Net income for the fourth quarter of FY97 was a record $1.4 million or $0.25 per share on revenues of $20.5 million. Revenue was up 22% and net income increased 17% versus last year's fourth quarter, which was COMARCO'S previous record high quarterly earnings. Fourth quarter operating income Operating Income The profit realized from a business' own operations. Notes: This would not include income from things such as investments in other firms. Also referred to as operating profit or recurring profit. for the company's wholly-owned subsidiary, Comarco Wireless Technologies Inc. was $2.1 million. For the year, Comarco Wireless' operating income was $5.2 million, up 42% over last year. Comarco Wireless' revenues for the fourth quarter were $7.3 million. Revenues for the year were $19.5 million, up 35%, versus $14.4 million in FY96. For FY97, Comarco Wireless' operating income was 79% of COMARCO'S operating income. "Fiscal year 1997 was an excellent year for the company," commented Don M. Bailey, president and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of COMARCO. "Our strategy, commitment and investment in our wireless communications wireless communications System using radio-frequency, infrared, microwave, or other types of electromagnetic or acoustic waves in place of wires, cables, or fibre optics to transmit signals or data. business has resulted in a 42% increase in earnings from this business. Cellular telephone companies have been very receptive receptive /re·cep·tive/ (re-cep´tiv) capable of receiving or of responding to a stimulus. to our new product offerings, comprising a significant portion of Comarco Wireless' sales. The rapid growth of cellular and PCS (1) (Personal Communications Services) Refers to wireless services that emerged after the U.S. government auctioned commercial licenses in 1994 and 1995. This radio spectrum in the 1. markets and the proliferation proliferation /pro·lif·er·a·tion/ (pro-lif?er-a´shun) the reproduction or multiplication of similar forms, especially of cells.prolif´erativeprolif´erous pro·lif·er·a·tion n. of numerous digital air interfaces is driving demand for our products worldwide. New products this year included CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) A method for transmitting simultaneous signals over a shared portion of the spectrum. The foremost application of CDMA is the digital cellular phone technology from QUALCOMM that operates in the 800 MHz band and 1.9 GHz PCS band. air interface products and the LT-100, the latest member of our field measurement product line. The LT-100 permits day-to-day network performance monitoring of cellular and PCS networks around the globe. "Last month COMARCO announced the closing of its acquisition of Cubic's roadside cellular call box operation. When combined with our acquisition of GTE's call box business, made in October 1996, COMARCO becomes the dominant company in this niche market A niche market also known as a target market is a focused, targetable portion (subset) of a market sector. By definition, then, a business that focuses on a niche market is addressing a need for a product or service that is not being addressed by mainstream providers. . In September 1996 Comarco Wireless was awarded a $4.1 million contract to upgrade Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County's call box system to comply with the American with Disabilities Act's requirements for use by hearing and speech impaired individuals. This contract covers 4,300 call boxes in LA County and there are an additional 12,000 call boxes in California California (kăl'ĭfôr`nyə), most populous state in the United States, located in the Far West; bordered by Oregon (N), Nevada and, across the Colorado River, Arizona (E), Mexico (S), and the Pacific Ocean (W). alone which could be subject to the same requirements. These developments open the door for significant potential migration of this technology to other counties, states and countries. "In our outsourced staffing business COMARCO announced the award of several contracts, with a total value of approximately $70 million, to provide engineering and management services to various government agencies. Customers include the Air Force B-2 program, Joint Interoperability Test Command The Joint Interoperability Test Command (JITC) is a United States military organization that tests technology that pertains to multiple branches of the armed services and government. There is a facility in Fort Huachuca, Arizona and in Indian Head, Maryland. , the Army's Operational Test Command, the GPS program office, and Riverside County in Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, . In addition, COMARCO acquired R.A.L. Consulting and Staffing Services Inc., a $9 million a year provider of outsourced staffing to commercial enterprises in Southern California. The acquisition has enabled COMARCO to expand its staffing services to private enterprises in addition to our traditional government markets. COMARCO's software products subsidiary lost $0.14 per share in fiscal 1997. Management has taken appropriate actions to reduce or eliminate the negative impact on earnings from this operation going forward. "Our cash and highly liquid investment position remains around $16 million at year end. We believe we are well capitalized Capitalized Recorded in asset accounts and then depreciated or amortized, as is appropriate for expenditures for items with useful lives longer than one year. to pursue the business opportunities presented to us. These include product development, geographic expansion of existing businesses, acquisition, and continued share repurchases Share Repurchase A program by which a company buys back its own shares from the marketplace, reducing the number of outstanding shares. This is usually an indication that the company's management thinks the shares are undervalued. . "Looking to the future, we expect Comarco Wireless to continue its expansion into Europe and Asia. Recently we have opened and staffed offices in Singapore and in London, England. For FY98, our product development program includes adding other air interfaces, such as CDMA, GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) A digital cellular phone technology based on TDMA that is the predominant system in Europe, but also used worldwide. Developed in the 1980s, GSM was first deployed in seven European countries in 1992. , PC 1800/1900, and IS- is- pref. Variant of iso-. 136, to our line of field measurement and revenue assurance products. We currently anticipate that both our wireless products and our outsourced staffing businesses will grow in FY98. Our earnings for FY98 will be impacted by the continued market acceptance of our new and existing products, our geographic expansion program, as well as the intensity of competition in these very attractive markets." -0- Except for historical information contained herein, the matters set forth in this news release are forward-looking statements forward-looking statement A projected financial statement based on management expectations. A forward-looking statement involves risks with regard to the accuracy of assumptions underlying the projections. that involve certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Potential risks and uncertainties include such factors such as the level of sales of our wireless communications and software products, timely and cost-effective product development, foreign marketing, the level of competition for the company's products and services, and the ability to meet the technical requirements required of our customers. Investors are also directed to consider a more detailed description of risks and uncertainties facing the company discussed in the documents filed by the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. -0- COMARCO Inc. (NASDAQ:CMRO) provides wireless communications products, as well as outsourced engineering, management and staffing services, to the public and private sectors. -0-
COMARCO Inc. (NASDAQ:CMRO)
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL DATA
STATEMENT OF INCOME
(Dollars in thousands Except Per Share Data)
Three Months Ended Year Ended
Jan. 31, Jan. 31 Jan. 31 Jan. 31
Statement of income 1997 1996 1997 1996
Revenue $ 20,538 $ 16,781 $ 71,414 $ 69,841
Direct Costs 12,480 9,629 42,914 43,184
Indirect costs 6,137 5,540 21,882 21,112
Total operating costs 18,617 15,169 64,796 64,296
Operating income $ 1,921 $ 1,612 $ 6,618 $ 5,545
Net interest income 133 151 559 497
Income before income taxes 2,054 1,763 7,177 6,042
Income taxes 668 574 2,512 2,157
Tax rate 33% 33% 35% 36%
Net Income $ 1,386 $ 1,189 $ 4,665 $ 3,885
Earnings per share
Primary $ 0.25 $ 0.22 $ 0.86 $ 0.75
Fully diluted $ 0.25 $ 0.22 $ 0.85 $ 0.73
Weighted average shares of common stock
Primary 5,542,000 5,346,000 5,429,000 5,185,000
Fully diluted 5,557,000 5,386,000 5,468,000 5,307,000
(1) Due to rounding, fully diluted EPS for the four quarters do not
total to the year end fully diluted EPS.
-0-
Comarco Wireless
Sales $ 7,275 $ 4,532 $ 19,519 $ 14,352
Operating Income $ 2,067 $ 1,303 $ 5,250 $ 3,709
-0-
SELECTED BALANCE Jan. 31 Jan. 31 Jan. 31
SHEET ITEMS 1997 1996 1995
Cash and short-term investments $ 14,535 $ 14,458 $ 9,907
Net accounts receivable 11,526 7,335 8,703
Current assets 31,360 23,727 19,848
Long-term investments (highly liquid) 1,859 841 1,023
Property and equipment, net 1,408 1,174 970
Intangible assets, net 1,842 2,578 3,011
Total assets 39,210 29,989 25,810
Short-term debt -- -- --
Current liabilities 10,931 7,678 7,454
Long-term debt -- -- --
Convertible subordinated debentures -- -- 844
Total shareholders' equity 26,977 21,738 17,203
CONTACT: Comarco Inc., Yorba Linda Don M. Bailey, 714/282-3813 Shareholder Information Office 714/282-3825 |
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