Empresas y finanzas

Wavecom Announces Second Quarter 2008 Financial Results



    Wavecom S.A. (Paris:AVM) (NASDAQ:WVCM) today announced financial results for its second quarter 2008 ending June 30, 2008.

    Ron Black, Wavecom Chief Executive Officer, commented: "Our business continues to be confronted by an uncertain economy, particularly in the US where some markets slowed considerably last quarter. At the same time, while our volumes were strong, the product-mix is transitioning from high-priced/low-margin to low-priced/high-margin products that further impacted revenue quarter-on-quarter. Despite these factors the quarter was profitable, the gross margin as percent of sales improved and we generated cash thanks to our attention to expense control."

    As announced in a press release today, Wavecom´s board of directors met on July 22, 2008 to activate a share repurchase program.

    In millions of euros (Under US GAAP) Consolidated Group Results Q2 2007 Q1 2008 Q2 2008 Revenues 56.1 38.1 34.9 Gross profit 24.4 19.6 18.3 Operating expenses 19.6 22.7 18.9 Operating income/(loss) 4.8 (3.1) (0.5) Net income/(loss) 5.0 (2.3) 0.6 Additional information

    Operating income/(loss) 4.8 (3.1) (0.5) Stock based related expenses: Research and development

    Sales and marketing

    General and administrative

    (0.1)

    (0.2)

    (0.4)

    (1.1)

    (1.8)

    (1.9)

    (0.5)

    -

    (0.2)

    Amortization expense related to acquisitions (0.8)

    (0.9)

    (1.0)

    Operating income before stock based compensation and amortization expense related to acquisitions

    6.3

    2.6

    1.2

    Second Quarter 2008 Highlights:

    All figures are unaudited and reported in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (U.S. GAAP), unless otherwise noted. Condensed and consolidated financial tables are provided at the end of this release.

    Revenues: Revenues for the second quarter 2008 were €34.9 million, declining 38% year-on-year (34% at constant currencies, i.e. using the second quarter 2007 exchange rate for the U.S. dollar to the euro), the continued weak U.S. dollar had a negative impact of approximately €2.3 million. Revenues declined 8% versus first quarter 2008 or 7% at constant currencies. Services revenue accounted for €1.5 million with contribution mainly from Anyware Technologies.

    Performances in the regions were mixed: EMEA revenues were flat compared to the previous quarter stopping declines that the region experienced over the last several quarters as our sales efforts are beginning to pay off. The Americas region revenues declined compared to the first quarter 2008 as it continued to face challenges in a difficult macro economic environment with certain sectors, like alarms, having slowed down. Also in the second quarter, the region experienced the end of a project from a large U.S. customer for which new opportunities are being studied. Revenues from the APAC region increased sequentially from the first quarter by 22% as a result of the growing customer base and business activity in recent quarters.

    In the second quarter 2008, the breakdown of product revenues by region was as follows: EMEA 56%, Americas 21% and APAC 23%.

    Revenues from the top ten customers represented 51% (7 of which were indirect distributor accounts), down compared to the previous quarter which was at 56%.

    Backlog: The 12-month product backlog at June 30, 2008 was €30.2 million compared to €37.5 million at March 31, 2008. The decline in backlog is largely coming from the EMEA region as one major customer transitioned away from distribution while new direct orders have not yet been placed. Backlog as of any given date may not be an accurate indicator of sales for any future period.

    Gross Margin: For the second quarter 2008 gross profit amounted to €18.3 million, representing 52.5% of sales compared to 51.5% in the first quarter 2008 and 43.4% in the second quarter 2007. The gross margin from products also increased incrementally to 54.7% of sales compared to 52.8% the previous quarter and 46.0% in the second quarter 2007. The high level of gross margin is the result of a product mix skewed to higher margin products during the quarter as well as a favorable downward trend in component prices.

    Operating Expenses: Total operating expenses for the second quarter 2008 of €18.9 million declined as compared to the previous quarter of €22.7 million and €19.6 million in Q2 2007. Excluding stock-based related expenses, operating expenses amounted to €18.2 million versus €17.9 million in first quarter 2008 and €18.9 million a year ago. At June 30, 2008, headcount (salaried employees) stood at 493 increasing from 485 at March 31, 2008.

    Profit: Operating result for the second quarter 2008 was a loss of €0.5 million, improving from a loss of €3.1 million in the previous quarter. This improvement is mainly due to the fact that last quarter the company decided to cancel a stock option plan which resulted in a significant exceptional change in the first quarter 2008. In the second quarter 2007, Wavecom reported an operating profit of €4.8 million.

    The Company reported a net profit of €0.6 million for the second quarter 2008, compared to a net loss of €2.3 million recorded in the previous quarter and a profit of €5.0 million for the same period the year before.

    As shown in the above table (on page one), on a non-GAAP basis, excluding stock-based related expenses and expenses related to our acquisitions, the operating income was €1.2 million for the second quarter 2008, compared to €2.6 million for the previous quarter and €6.3 million a year ago.

    Balance sheet: Wavecom´s cash and marketable securities position increased quarter-on-quarter to €130.8 million at June 30, 2008 from €127.5 million at March 31, 2008. Net cash (cash and marketable securities less convertible bonds) stood at €50.3 million. Inventory decreased incrementally to €4.3 million compared with €4.9 million the previous quarter. DSOs (Days Sales Outstanding) improved to 59 days compared with 67 days the previous quarter.

    Chantal Bourgeat, Wavecom CFO, concluded, "Our financial results reflect the overall uncertainties that our customers face in the current economic environment, resulting in slower than anticipated demand. If this environment continues, we expect the second half of 2008 to remain challenging. As such we will continue to focus on operating efficiency and cost control. Over the last quarter we were encouraged by the number of new design wins in each region that should translate into revenues in the quarters to come. There is also indication of increasing stability in automotive and metering, the two segments we believe are likely to drive recovery, although the timeframe is still unclear given the economy."

    Business Highlights:

    Collaboration with EDMI Limited (Singapore Exchange: EDMI) and Wavecom. The two companies have worked together to help establish the Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) in Australia and New Zealand markets.

    Wavecom received four M2M Value Chain Enabler Awards, (M2M United) recognizing the contribution of its technology to innovative M2M solutions in water and wastewater, fleet management and location based services.

    World´s first Cellular-Satellite hybrid module launched by Wavecom. Wavecom announced a groundbreaking combination of cellular, satellite and GPS technology (select models) on a single device: the Wavecom Q52 Omni Wireless CPU®.

    Machine-to-Machine anti-jamming wireless security Plug-In introduced by Wavecom. As wireless M2M (machine-to-machine) products become more and more sophisticated, the data that they generate are increasingly valuable to the enterprises using it. With the Open AT® Security Plug-In, Wavecom launched a software solution which addresses all these concerns.

    Tattletale Portable Alarm Systems, Inc. announced it has chosen Wavecom as the single source for cellular wireless technology to enable their pioneering portable alarm systems designed to protect any asset, anywhere in the U.S. or Canada.

    Conference Call:

    Today at 2:30 p.m. (Paris time) Wavecom management will host a conference call in English reserved for financial professionals commenting on its second quarter 2008 results. To access this call, please use the following numbers: +33 (0)1 70 99 43 00 in France, +44 (0)20 7806 1966 in the U.K. and +1 718 354 1388 in the U.S. Visit the Wavecom corporate website: www.wavecom.com investors section to listen to the conference call commentary webcast (in English).

    This call will be followed by a presentation to the financial community in Paris by Wavecom management at 4:00 pm.

    Conference call replay available until July 25 by dialing-in to the following numbers: +33 (0)1 71 23 02 48 in France, +44 (0)20 7806 1970 in the UK and +1 718 354 1112 in the US with access code: 7060664#.

    Wavecom will announce its third quarter 2008 results on October 22, 2008 at 7:00 a.m. Paris time.

    About Wavecom

    Wavecom is a worldwide leader in embedded industrial wireless communication solutions for automotive, machine-to-machine and mobile professional applications. Wavecom´s solutions include the Open AT® software platform encompassing the Wavecom Open AT® Operating System, a wide range of Plug-Ins, the Open AT® Integrated Development Environment (IDE) along with a market-leading range of Wireless CPUs (Central Processing Units), and an expanding portfolio of services. These complete embedded solutions enable makers of all types of machines to develop a new breed of intelligent wireless applications, without the need of external processors and other ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits) and components.

    Founded in 1993 and headquartered in Paris, Wavecom has subsidiaries in Hong Kong (PRC), Research Triangle Park, NC (USA), and Farnborough (UK) and Munich (Germany). Wavecom is publicly traded on Euronext Paris (Eurolist) in France and on the NASDAQ (WVCM) exchange in the U.S.

    This press release contains forward-looking statements that relate to the Company´s future business performance, operating expenses and financial results and objectives. Such forward-looking statements are based on the current expectations and assumptions of the Company´s management only and involve risk and uncertainties. Potential risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, whether the Company will be commercially successful in implementing its strategies, whether there will be continued growth in the vertical markets and demand for the Company´s products, the Company´s reliance on a single contract manufacturer in China for all production requirements, an unanticipated decrease in orders from one of the Company´s principal customers or customer cancellation or scale-down of a major project, changes in foreign currency exchange rates, dependence on third parties, new products or technological developments introduced by competitors, customer and supplier concerns regarding the Company´s overall financial position, and risks associated with managing growth. Unfavorable developments in connection with these and other risks and uncertainties described in the Company´s reports on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission could cause the Company to fail to achieve the anticipated or targeted performance or results. As a consequence, the Company´s actual performance and results may be materially different from those expressed by the forward-looking statements above.

    Condensed financial tables follow

    WAVECOM S.A.



    UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (in thousands, except for share and per share data)





    Prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.













    Three months ended

    June 30,
    March 31,
    June 30,

    2007
    2008
    2008





    Euro
    Euro
    Euro Revenues :





    Product sales
    55,776
    36,907
    33,401 Services revenue
    334
    1,196
    1,499

    56,110
    38,103
    34,900 Cost of revenues :





    Cost of goods sold
    30,139
    17,427
    15,141 Cost of services
    1,600
    1,054
    1,425

    31,739
    18,481
    16,566 Gross profit
    24,371
    19,622
    18,334 Operating expenses :





    Research and development
    8,179
    9,724
    9,319 Sales and marketing
    5,740
    7,198
    5,810 General and administrative
    5,700
    5,823
    3,733 Total operating expenses
    19,619
    22,745
    18,862 Operating income (loss)
    4,752
    (3,123)
    (528) Interest income and other financial income, net
    420
    825
    870 Foreign exchange gain (loss), net
    (51)
    (44)
    171 Total financial income
    369
    781
    1,041 Income (loss) before income taxes
    5,121
    (2,342)
    513 Income tax expense (benefit)
    91
    (7)
    (38) Net income (loss)
    5,030
    (2,335)
    551 Basic net income (loss) per share
    0.33
    (0.15)
    0.04 Diluted net income (loss) per share
    0.30
    (0.15)
    0.04 Number of shares used for computing :





    - basic
    15,447,796
    15,254,603
    15,259,641 - diluted
    16,645,446
    15,254,603
    18,329,375 WAVECOM S.A.


    UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (in thousands, except for share and per share data)



    Prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.









    Six months ended

    June 30,
    June 30,

    2007
    2008




    Euro
    Euro Revenues :



    Product sales
    103,562
    70,308 Services revenue
    665
    2,694

    104,227
    73,002 Cost of revenues :



    Cost of goods sold
    56,152
    32,568 Cost of services
    3,158
    2,478

    59,310
    35,046 Gross profit
    44,917
    37,956 Operating expenses :



    Research and development
    15,937
    19,043 Sales and marketing
    11,154
    13,008 General and administrative
    11,484
    9,557 Total operating expenses
    38,575
    41,608 Operating income (loss)
    6,342
    (3,652) Interest income and other financial income, net
    836
    1,695 Foreign exchange gain (loss), net
    (98)
    127 Total financial income
    738
    1,822 Income (loss) before income taxes
    7,080
    (1,830) Income tax expense (benefit)
    102
    (45) Net income (loss)
    6,978
    (1,785) Basic net income (loss) per share
    0.45
    (0.12) Diluted net income (loss) per share
    0.42
    (0.12) Number of shares used for computing :



    - basic
    15,424,475
    15,257,142 - diluted
    16,515,843
    15,257,142 WAVECOM S.A.


    UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (in thousands, except for share data)



    Prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.









    At December 31,
    At June 30,

    2007
    2008

    Euro
    Euro ASSETS







    Current assets :



    Cash and cash equivalents
    4,677
    3,745 Marketable securities
    134,610
    127,065 Accounts receivable, net
    29,467
    23,050 Inventory
    6,032
    4,302 Value added tax recoverable
    1,124
    774 Prepaid expenses and other current assets
    3,141
    3,648 Deferred tax assets
    4,514
    4,514 Total current assets
    183,565
    167,098 Other assets :



    Long-term investments
    3,731
    5,706 Other assets and Interest in associates
    4,517
    4,290 Research tax credit
    2,049
    2,758 Income tax receivable
    13,083
    13,083 Intangible and tangible assets, net
    16,336
    19,911 Goodwill
    8,117
    16,678 Total assets
    231,398
    229,524



    LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS´ EQUITY







    Current liabilities :



    Accounts payable
    27,612
    23,386 Accrued compensation
    8,584
    5,879 Current portion of other accrued expenses
    3,572
    2,872 Current portion of convertible bonds
    664
    701 Current portion of capitalized lease obligations
    207
    275 Deferred revenue and advances received from customers
    307
    1,067 Deferred tax liabilities
    -
    211 Other liabilities
    3,652
    5,942 Total current liabilities
    44,598
    40,333



    Long-term liabilities :



    Long-term portion of other accrued expenses
    16,636
    15,401 Long-term portion of convertible bonds
    80,500
    80,500 Long-term portion of capitalized lease obligations
    340
    304 Other long-term liabilities
    616
    550 Total long-term liabilities
    98,092
    96,755



    Shareholders´ equity :



    Shares, euro 1 nominal value, 15,811,381 shares authorized, issued and outstanding at



    June 30, 2008 (15,796,591 at December 31, 2007)
    15,797
    15,811 Additional paid-in capital
    146,052
    151,663 Treasury stock at cost (391,649 shares at June 30, 2008 and 544,322 at December 31, 2007)
    (8,823)
    (7,541) Accumulated deficit
    (62,548)
    (65,614) Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)
    (1,770)
    (1,883) Total shareholders´ equity
    88,708
    92,436 Total liabilities and shareholders´ equity
    231,398
    229,524 WAVECOM S.A.


    UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (in thousands)



    Prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.












    Three months ended June 30,



    2007
    2008




    Euro
    Euro Cash flows from operating activities :



    Net income (loss)
    6,978
    (1,785) Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash provided (used) by



    operating activities:



    Amortization and impairment of intangible and tangible assets
    4,257
    4,311 Amortization of debt issue costs
    -
    280 Share-based compensation
    1,348
    5,541 Loss (gain) on sales and retirement of tangible assets
    4
    (14) Disposal of marketable securities, net
    -
    7,592 Deferred tax
    -
    (95) Net increase (decrease) in cash from working capital items
    (9,579)
    777 Net cash provided by operating activities
    3,008
    16,607 Cash flows from investing activities :



    Disposal of long-term investments
    (17)
    (1,974) Purchases of intangible and tangible assets
    (2,652)
    (4,284) Acquisition of certain assets, net of cash acquired
    -
    (10,750) Proceeds from sale of intangible and tangible assets
    -
    57 Net cash used by investing activities
    (2,669)
    (16,951) Cash flows from financing activities :



    Principal payments on capital lease obligations
    (147)
    (151) Proceeds from exercise of stock options and founders´ warrants
    1,327
    85 Net cash provided (used) by financing activities
    1,180
    (66) Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents
    (241)
    (522) Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents
    1,278
    (932) Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period
    54,776
    4,677 Cash and cash equivalents, end of period
    56,054
    3,745