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TOPT... Top Tankers beats by $0.15 (TOPT) 19.29: Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.80 per share, $0.15 better than the Reuters Estimates consensus of $0.65; revenues rose 641.0% year/year to $47.7 mln.
TOP Tankers Reports Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2004 Results
Friday February 18, 7:35 am ET
ATHENS, Greece, Feb. 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- TOP Tankers Inc (Nasdaq: TOPT - News) today announced operating results for the fourth quarter and the fiscal year ended December 31, 2004.
For the three months ended December 31, 2004, the Company reported net income of $19,286,000, or $0.80 per share, compared with net income of $688,000, or $0.11 per share, for the fourth quarter of 2003. The weighted average number of basic and diluted shares used in the computations was 24,196,917 and 6,000,000 for the fourth quarter of 2004 and 2003, respectively.
For the three months ended December 31, 2004, operating income was $21,302,000 compared with $1,136,000 for the fourth quarter of 2003. EBITDA* for the fourth quarter of 2004 was $28,254,000 compared with $2,322,000 for the previous year's fourth quarter. Voyage revenues for the fourth quarter of 2004 were $47,722,000 compared to $6,441,000 recorded in the fourth quarter of the previous year.
For the year ended December 31, 2004, TOP Tankers reported net income of $32,739,000, or $2.53 per share, compared to $1,634,000, or $0.27 per share, for the previous year. The weighted average number of basic and diluted shares used in the computations was 12,922,449 and 6,000,000 for the years ended December 31, 2004, and 2003, respectively.
For the year ended December 31, 2004, operating income was $37,268,000 compared with $2,710,000 for the previous year. EBITDA for 2004 was $52,081,000 compared to $7,172,000 for the previous year. Voyage revenues for the year ended December 31, 2004, was $93,774,000, compared to $23,085,000 recorded in the previous year.
Evangelos J. Pistiolis, President and Chief Executive Officer of TOP Tankers Inc, commented, "2004 was a milestone year for our Company:
* We listed our shares on the Nasdaq National Market on July 23, raising
$146.6 million, the largest shipping IPO at the time.
* We completed our follow-on public offering on November 5, raising
$148 million.
* We successfully acquired a fleet of 10 modern double-hull vessels with
the proceeds of our IPO in record time, and we are in the process of
taking delivery of another five modern double-hull tankers, acquired
with the proceeds of our follow-on offering.
* Our total fleet size increased six times, from five vessels, or
0.18 million Dwt on December 31, 2003, to 15 vessels, or 1.08 million
Dwt on December 31, 2004, and 10.2 times pro-forma the delivery of the
follow-on vessels.
* We sold two of our single-hull Handysize vessels and increased our
double-hull configuration to 97.2 percent by Dwt. Consistent with our
policy of operating a high quality double-hull fleet, we intend to
sell our last single-hull tanker during 2005.
* We fixed our 10 Handymax vessels with major oil-traders on long-term
employment contracts at profitable base rates with 50/50 profit
sharing on subcharters. This employment strategy allows us to
minimize downside risk, secure a significant part of our cashflow and
benefit from higher spot voyage charter rates.
"We look forward to expanding our tanker fleet in 2005 and will also explore acquisitions in the dry-bulk carrier sector as opportunities arise that satisfy our investment criteria."
NHLC...Anyone still holding NHLC from the old RB days? Comments please. Doubled my position after reading the Nasdaq news yesterday. W/ a good earnings report (due out next month), maybe this can touch new highs?? ($26.5)??
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=NHLC.OB&t=1y
Very volatile due to the low float.
President seems very positive on growth...."We have approximately 100,000 active distributors in over 30 countries worldwide and have appointed management teams that will help us in the near future enter the Mexican and Japanese markets, the world's 4th and 2nd largest direct-selling markets, respectively. We expect to grow considerably during 2005 and anticipate doing business in five of the top 10 direct-selling markets in the world by the end of this year."
NHLC to trade on Nasdaq...
Natural Health Trends Corp. to Trade Its Stock on the NASDAQ National Market System
Wednesday February 16, 12:55 pm ET
First Trading Day Expected to be February 22, 2005
'NHLC' to 'BHIP'
DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 16, 2005--Natural Health Trends Corp. (OTCBB:NHLC - News), an international direct-selling company, today announced that it has been approved by The NASDAQ Stock Market for quotation of its common stock on NASDAQ's National Market System under the ticker symbol BHIP. It is expected that the first trading day on NASDAQ NMS will be Tuesday, February 22, 2005.
Mark Woodburn, President of Natural Health Trends Corp., said, "We are very pleased to be able to begin 2005 with a listing on NASDAQ's National Market System. Our current and future shareholders should benefit from the heightened profile that the NASDAQ listing gives to our company and to our stock, and from the greater liquidity we expect from trading on the world's most prestigious electronic trading system. We also hope to attract interest from institutional and other investors in growth companies that are precluded from investing in Bulletin Board quoted securities. NASDAQ's approval of our listing application is a tribute to the hard work and dedication of a great many people who have put so much into building Natural Health Trends Corp. into the successful multi-national organization it is today."
Woodburn also said, "In addition to expanding our range of operations, we are constantly developing new and revolutionary products for our distributors. Our strategic plan calls for deepening existing markets as well as broadening our global reach. With that in mind, we intend to unveil several new products in the coming months. For these reasons we have chosen the stock symbol BHIP. By definition "hip" means keenly aware of or knowledgeable about the latest trends or developments. I cannot think of a better definition of what this company stands for, and the type of products that we plan to introduce in the years ahead."
He added, "Over the last couple of years, Natural Health Trends Corp. is one of the fastest growing direct-selling companies in the world, growing to approximately $63 million in revenues for the year 2003 and $97 million in revenues for the first nine months of 2004. We have approximately 100,000 active distributors in over 30 countries worldwide and have appointed management teams that will help us in the near future enter the Mexican and Japanese markets, the world's 4th and 2nd largest direct-selling markets, respectively. We expect to grow considerably during 2005 and anticipate doing business in five of the top 10 direct-selling markets in the world by the end of this year. The proceeds from our $17 million private placement last fall, along with the recent expansion of our senior executive team, should help us fund and manage our growth prospects."
Woodburn concluded, "Our NASDAQ listing is a major milestone in the early development of Natural Health Trends Corp., but we like to think of it as another tool to help our company grow, to support our distributors and their customers, and to add value for our shareholders. While it is certainly an important accomplishment, executing our business plan is now our sole focus."
Natural Health Trends Corp. is an international direct-selling company operating in more than 30 markets throughout Asia Pacific, North America and Eastern Europe. The Company markets premium quality personal care products under the Lexxus brand and markets its nutritional supplement products under the Kaire brand. Additional information can be found on the Company's website, and management encourages interested parties to register for updated corporate information via e-mail on the Company's homepage, www.naturalhealthtrendscorp.com.
researcher59, Re: PLUS...
How much pull do you think the win over Ariba will give ePlus? Do you think the win will help ePlus sign licensing agreements w/ other companies? Here's an article that came out 1½ years ago where the writer say's ePlus has a strong patent, but didn't know if it would hold up in court. He also mentioned that probably over half of the E-procurement implementations out there are in violation of the patent.....
(Earnings didn't look all that bad, although I did sell a few shares on the open. After settlement and taxes, ePlus should be @ over $3 eps for fiscal y/e March 31, 2005. Cash increased and so did s/h equity.)....
EPlus Claims Patent For Electronic Sourcing
By Darrell Dunn, InformationWeek
InternetWeek
July 8, 2003
The question of intellectual property and patents is very much top of mind these days, what with the SCO Group's pursuit of licensing fees for Unix code it says has been misappropriated, and eBay Inc.'s being ordered to pay $35 million in compensatory damages to MercExchange LLC for violating three patents that its founder and CEO filed for in 1995.
Now vendors of electronic sourcing software may start to look a little more closely at supply-chain management specialist ePlus Inc., which earlier this year was awarded a patent that covers the fundamentals of electronic sourcing, nearly a decade after it was originally filed.
Although ePlus has yet to file a lawsuit alleging infringement of the patent, "we're keeping our eyes and ears open, and we'll make an appropriate decision to defend our rights," president Ken Farber says.
The patent, Farber says, establishes the basis for electronic sourcing systems with the capability of searching multiple vendor catalogs to compare pricing and product features, as well as make purchases. The technology is used in the company's Procure+ software, which lets customers track corporate disbursements and manage purchasing administration, as well as Content+, an automated method of aggregating catalog content.
Pierre Mitchell, an analyst with AMR Research, says the ePlus patent is strong, but he's not sure that having it affirmed will result in revenue through litigation. "It's very broadly applicable," he says. But "these things are very hard to enforce. Basically, probably over half of the E-procurement implementations out there are in violation of this patent. It is unlikely to generate any revenues just because of the amount of effort you have to put in to something like this to extract money from any one."
Having the patent in-house should, however, provide ePlus with greater visibility in the industry, and potential customers may be likely to give greater consideration to ePlus' offerings versus competitive solutions going forward, Mitchell said.
Farber says the technology has been instrumental in the company's overall business, and ePlus will continue to enhance it and provide the ability to do more sourcing of products. The company plans to provide analytics so customers can really monitor and manage what they're purchasing and from whom, "while maintaining a complete vendor table of record within a single catalog so that they can reconcile all their transactions with various vendors," Farber says.
The company in June reported record earnings of $9.7 million on revenue of $225 million for the fiscal year ended March 31. That compares to earnings of $9 million on revenue of $205 million in the previous fiscal year.
PLUS...Taken from Ariba's 10q re: Patent infringment lawsuit filed by ePlus (PLUS)..."There is a significant risk that the litigation will have a material adverse effect on our business, consolidated financial position, results of operations and cash flows. Although we recorded a $37.0 million litigation provision in the three month period ended December 31, 2004, there can be no assurance that this amount is sufficient for any actual losses that may be incurred as a result of this litigation.
Here's a response from lesspheus on yahoo...
"ARBA stashed $37.0 million for PLUS before they lost the case and now knows that it might not be sufficient. $37.0 million is $4.13 per share for PLUS in cash. Add that to the current book value of $12.98 (per Yahoo) for PLUS and you get a book value of $17.11. Damn. That is just friggen book value and it does not include the upside for a larger award and the right of the judge to _tripple_ the award. Give PLUS a reasonable, but still cheap, price-to-book ratio of 2 on that baseline book value and you have a stock price of $34.22! This of course completely discounts PLUS's future growth prospects for revenue and earnings, which could be dramatic. And it does not at all take into play the possibility that PLUS can sue several other companies over the same patents.
I argue that PLUS can easily be valued at $34.22 with tons of upside potential from there! Any way you look at it $16.XX is dirt cheap."
PLUS...(researcher59)...It's intersesting that a spokesman from Ariba said the case could be settled before the damages phase, which was suppose to start today. The case will be appealed ONLY if a settlement is not reached. If you read the article below, it almost seems like Ariba wants to avoid the appeal.
Researcher59, Glad to see you made some profit. I sold off a few shares yesterday and ended up buying them back @ $15. There's just something about ePlus' continued share buyback program that tells me this company is or will be worth a lot more than they're trading for.
Here's the article from the Pittsburgh Tribune Review....
Damages phase of Ariba trial to begin
By Michael Yeomans
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, February 9, 2005
Ariba Inc. lost a patent infringement jury trial to a much smaller competitor on Monday that could expose it to as much as $294 million in a damages phase of the trial expected to begin today.
Ariba, based in Sunnyvale, Calif., acquired FreeMarkets Inc. in July and maintains its largest cluster of employees -- about 500 -- Downtown, where it recently replaced the FreeMarkets name with an Ariba sign atop One Oliver Plaza at Sixth Avenue and Smithfield Street.
The suit, brought by Herndon, Va.-based ePlus Inc. in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, claims Ariba violated three patents with three of its products regarding the searching of online catalogs from different vendors to compare products and features.
Ariba spokesman Kevin Brooks said the case could be settled before the damages phase begins but said a settlement is not guaranteed. Brooks said Ariba disagrees with the jury's findings, and absent a settlement, Ariba said it intends to appeal. In the meantime, the company is updating its software to bypass the "alleged infringement."
Brad Whitt, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets in Toronto, said the suit will not affect Ariba's financial performance or business fundamentals, although he said a large award by the judge in the trial could cause the company's stock price to fall further.
Ariba said ePlus claims damages of $76 million to $98 million, which the judge has the discretion to triple based on the jury's finding that Ariba willingly infringed ePlus patents.
Ariba stock fell $1.71, or about 17 percent Tuesday, to close at $8.04. This follows a 32 percent drop on Feb. 1, after the company reported a larger-than-expected first-quarter loss of nearly $10 million.
Brooks of Ariba said the reaction of investors to the uncertainty brought on by the trial verdict is likely behind yesterday's share price decline.
ePlus acquired the patents in question in 2001 when it bought Procurenet Inc. It hinted shortly afterward that it would seek to sue those it determined were in violation of the patents.
ePlus Senior Vice President Kley Parkhurst declined comment until the trial's damages phase is complete.
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/business/s_301733.html
PLUS finally getting noticed after their win against Ariba in a patent infringment law suit announced yesterday!!!!
"Ariba said ePlus claims damages of $76 million to $98 million, which the judge has the discretion to triple based on the jury's finding that Ariba willingly infringed ePlus patents."
stock_peeker, re: FONR...
I feel pretty confident that FONR will continue to show a good upward trend in revenues & profits. Hope I'm right, but you never know...We'll find out tomorrow.
IMO, the UpRight MRI will be a standard in the industry.
Richt_o4 from the yahoo board seems to be in the know. He's a good poster to follow if you like the company.....
Intent to Purchase List (45)
http://messages.yahoo.com/bbs?.mm=FN&action=m&board=7076835&tid=fonr&sid=7076835&...
Watch PLUS today. They won the first phase of a patent infringment lawsuit against Ariba....
(ePlus has been involved in a major share repurchasing program over the past 3 years. See post #3049)...
Verdicts Rendered in First Phase of Ariba Patent Infringement Trial
SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 8, 2005--Ariba(R), Inc. (Nasdaq:ARBA), the leading Spend Management solutions provider, today announced that it has been found liable by a jury in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia for infringing three U.S. patents held by ePlus, Inc., a company based in Herndon, Virginia. On February 7, 2005, the jury declined to invalidate the three patents at issue and found that Ariba infringed certain claims contained in the three patents. Ariba believes the findings of the jury are erroneous and intends to vigorously pursue an appeal of the verdicts. In the meantime, Ariba intends to quickly provide its customers with software updates designed to avoid the alleged infringement.
ePlus filed the infringement action on May 26, 2004 claiming that certain features in three of Ariba's products, Ariba Buyer, Ariba Marketplace and Ariba Category Procurement, infringed claims in the three patents, and the trial began on January 24, 2005. The trial judge bifurcated the trial into two phases, the first to determine the validity of the patents and whether Ariba's products infringed those patents and the second to try damages-related issues. Yesterday's findings were only as to the first phase of the trial, and Ariba expects that the damages-related phase will begin on February 9, 2005.
ePlus claims royalty damages of $76.0 million to $98.0 million. Based on the jury's finding of willful infringement, the trial judge has the discretion to enhance any award up to three times the jury's award of damages. Ariba disputes that it is liable for any damages and disputes ePlus's calculation as to the amount of the damages. However, Ariba cannot predict the outcome of the damages phase of the trial, whether it will be successful on appeal, or whether it will be successful in obtaining a stay of any injunction against further infringement pending appeal.
About Ariba, Inc.
Ariba, Inc. is the leading provider of Spend Management solutions to help companies realize rapid and sustainable bottom line results. Successful companies around the world in every industry use Ariba Spend Management software and services. Ariba can be contacted in the U.S. at 650-390-1000 or at www.ariba.com.
Copyright (C) 1996 - 2005 Ariba, Inc.
Ariba and the Ariba logo are registered trademarks of Ariba, Inc. Ariba Spend Management, Ariba Spend Management. Find it. Get it. Keep it., Ariba. This is Spend Management, Ariba Solutions Delivery, Ariba Analysis, Ariba Buyer, Ariba Category Management, Ariba Category Procurement, Ariba Contract Compliance, Ariba Contracts, Ariba Contract Management, Ariba Contract Workbench, Ariba Data Enrichment, Ariba eForms, Ariba Sourcing, Ariba Invoice, Ariba Travel & Expense, Ariba Workforce, Ariba Supplier Network, Ariba Supplier Performance Management, Ariba PunchOut, Ariba QuickSource, PO-Flip, Ariba Settlement and Ariba Spend Management Knowledge Base are trademarks or service marks of Ariba, Inc. Ariba Proprietary and Confidential. All rights reserved. Patents pending. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.
FONR...Earnings due out Wednesday. Will the consecutive gains continue? I think so....
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/is?s=FONR
Excellent growth in the MRI industry. Don't know where this is headed, but I'm hoping to see FONR trading around $2 a share by the end of the week.
We'll see what happens.
COGO, Comtech Group (old symbol, COMT).....
No news and up over 28% yesterday on good volume!!!!!!!!
We'll see if it continues. A growing profitable Chinese company that just hit the Nasdaq. For more info on the company...
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=5202243
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=5239052
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=5273701
PLUS having a good day! Seems to have a tightly held float. Today's news on Homeland security must of brought extra attention to the company. Here's a repost from the yahoo board reguarding their share buyback program....
A Year Ago This Month...
January 1, 2004 through January 31, 2004, ePlus bought back 187,500 shares at an average of $14.06 per share!
Between Feb & March of '04, 174,000 shares were repurchased at an average of $13.65 a share.
39,000 shares were repurchased in April.
In May they increased the cumulative purchase maximum amount from $7,500,000 to $12,000,000.
And on Nov 18, 2004, ePlus announced another stock repurchasing program.
One of the strongest share buyback programs I've ever seen. The float is shrinking and so are the shares outstanding.
Shares outstanding now = below 9M.
BTW, approx. 2M shares have been bought back since Sept, '01. That equals out to almost 20% of total shares outstanding.
PLUS...New Software To Aid Homeland Security Efforts by Providing Wireless Access to View Infrastructure Data .....
ePlus Enhances DigitalPaper XE for Emergency Response & First Responders
Monday January 31, 8:30 am ET
Software Aids Homeland Security Efforts by Providing Wireless Access to View Infrastructure Data
HERNDON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 31, 2005-- ePlus inc. (Nasdaq NM:PLUS - News), a leading provider of Enterprise Cost Management solutions, today announced a new program for its DigitalPaper(TM) XE software in the homeland security/emergency response marketplace. The software can be used to equip first responders - including government agencies, state and local municipalities including; police, firefighters, and other public safety officials -- with real-time wireless access to building floor plans, civil engineering drawings, and other critical public and private infrastructure information in the field. Even the largest documents can now be accessed at the scene of the emergency, where they are most needed by front-line personnel.
Using DigitalPaper XE software, emergency response teams can retrieve building layouts and schematics, topographical maps, aerial photographs, and water, gas, electrical, sewer, roads, bridge, airport and structured drawings on mobile PCs or wireless web pads in seconds. The software's patented DirectSight technology eliminates the need to attach or transfer files, enabling documents of any size or complexity to be viewed instantly with a Web browser and Internet connection.
As a result, emergency response and homeland security personnel can access and review such critical information as exit routes, fire hydrant locations and other vital information en route to the scene of emergency incidents. Local police, firefighters, emergency medical personnel, SWAT or HazMat teams, and others can see the same documents available to central dispatch, making it possible to familiarize themselves with the site involved to aid in planning and executing the best rescue and public safety strategies.
"Our DigitalPaper XE software is a valuable new tool for homeland security and emergency response because it overcomes the limitations of conventional file transfer technology when dealing with extremely large document images such as floor plans," said Ken Farber, president of ePlus Systems. "By making key infrastructure information available to emergency personnel on wireless devices, we are enabling responders to react more quickly and with better intelligence, potentially reducing property damage and casualties."
ePlus' DigitalPaper technology has been used by hundreds of commercial and government organizations to allow fast, secure Web access and annotation of large, complex, unstructured documents such as engineering drawings, facilities diagrams, blueprints and technical manuals. The software reduces operating costs and expedites work processes by eliminating the delays and version control problems associated with paper distribution.
For more information on DigitalPaper and wireless document access for emergency responders, please see www.eplus.com/dp. References made hereto 'homeland security' do not refer to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
About ePlus inc.
A leading provider of Enterprise Cost Management, ePlus provides a comprehensive solution to reduce the costs of purchasing, owning, and financing goods and services. ePlus Enterprise Cost Management (eECM) packages business process outsourcing, eProcurement, asset management, product and catalog content management, supplier enablement, strategic sourcing, financial services and document access and collaboration into a single integrated solution, all based on ePlus' leading business application software. The company is headquartered in Herndon, VA, and has more than 30 locations in the U.S. and Canada. For more information, visit www.eplus.com, call 888-482-1122 or email info@eplus.com.
ePlus, DigitalPaper, eECM, ePlus Enterprise Cost Management, and/or other ePlus products referenced herein are either registered trademarks or trademarks of ePlus inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners
Comtech Group to Trade on Nasdaq National Market
Monday January 31, 8:02 am ET
(Comtech Group just posted strong 4Q and year end gains. See Post #2743).
SHENZHEN, China, Jan. 31 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Comtech Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: COGO - News), a leading module design solutions provider in China focused on the mobile handset and telecom equipment industries, announced that it has received approval for listing on the Nasdaq National Market. The Company's common stock is expected to begin trading today under the symbol "COGO." Previously, the Company's common stock had traded on the OTC Electronic Bulletin Board under the symbol "COMT.OB."
"Nasdaq's approval of our National Market listing marks another key milestone in our effort to reach a broader shareholder audience and increase the liquidity of our common shares," said Jeffrey Kang, Chairman, President and CEO. "We are excited to reach this next step in our evolution as a public company."
About Comtech
Comtech Group, Inc. is a module design solutions provider in China, focused on the mobile handset and telecom equipment industries. The Company's client base has grown to serve over 200 companies in the mobile handset and telecom equipment industries in China. Its team of engineers works with manufacturers of mobile handset and telecom equipment to design solutions that meet their needs. The Company designs solutions for mobile device products, including liquid crystal display (LCD) modules, camera modules, persistent storage modules, input/output modules, sound system and power supply modules. In the telecom equipment industry Comtech targets optical solutions, data communication solutions, public switched telephone network (PSTN) switching and wireless base stations.
MIPS....AUSUTek, the world's Leading motherboard manufacturer, has inked a licensing agreement w/ MIPS Technologies. IMO, this is huge news even though the price doesn't seem to be reflecting it this morning. (Last week MIPS announced a deal w/ Scientific-Atlanta). Good growth stock....
World's Leading Motherboard Manufacturer ASUSTeK Adopts MIPS(R) Architecture for Portable and Digital Multimedia Devices
Thursday January 27, 8:04 am ET
License Agreement Will Accelerate ASUSTeK's Entry into New Digital Consumer Markets
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. and TAIPEI, Taiwan, Jan. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - - MIPS Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: MIPS - News) today announced that ASUSTeK Computer Inc., the world's leading motherboard manufacturer, has licensed the MIPS32(R) 4KEc(TM) and 4KEp(TM) cores, and MIPS(R) Consumer Audio Platform and software tool kits. ASMedia Technology, the subsidiary IC design house of ASUSTeK, will utilize the MIPS architecture to develop multimedia SoCs for digital consumer devices.
The collaboration between MIPS and ASUSTeK brings together the abundant resources of the MIPS ecosystem and the world's largest motherboard maker's massive PC peripheral capabilities including design, integration and manufacturing.
The high-performance, low-power and small footprint of the MIPS32 4KE(TM) cores are designed for cost- and power-sensitive applications, such as digital consumer and multimedia. With their large writeback cache memories and user-defined instructions, the 4KEc and 4KEp cores will enable IC designers to optimize the audio/video performance and battery life of portable devices at reduced cost.
The MIPS Consumer Audio Platform, targeting high-performance embedded signal processing, includes multiple software audio codecs and will allow ASUSTeK to accelerate the development cycle of integrated multimedia. This gives designers ample flexibility to configure their SoCs for a range of options such as power, performance or area.
"The industry worldwide recognizes the MIPS architecture as the de facto standard for digital audio/video," said Jerry Shen, vice president of ASUSTeK Computer. "After careful evaluation, we've selected MIPS cores to enable us to expand our leadership position in the notebook and PC arena to accelerate our entry into a variety of multimedia markets, and deliver the feature-rich products our customers demand."
"We are pleased and excited that ASUSTeK decided to choose MIPS products," said Amos Lu, regional manager of Greater China at MIPS Technologies. "Leveraging the MIPS architecture, and the software, tools, peripheral IP and development environments already ported to it, ASUSTeK will significantly shorten time-to-market and strengthen its competitive advantage in established and emerging markets. The low-power characteristics of our 4KE family cores help prolong battery life and will give ASUSTeK's products a significant advantage in the consumer market."
About MIPS Technologies
MIPS Technologies, Inc. is a leading provider of industry-standard processor architectures and cores for digital consumer and business applications. The company drives the broadest architectural alliance that is delivering 32- and 64-bit embedded RISC solutions. The company licenses its intellectual property to semiconductor companies, ASIC developers and system OEMs. MIPS Technologies and its licensees offer the widest range of robust, scalable processors in standard, custom, semi-custom and application-specific products. The company is based in Mountain View, Calif., and can be reached at +1-650-567-5000 or www.mips.com.
About ASUSTeK
ASUSTeK Computer Inc. (TSE: 2357 - News), is a leading provider of 3C total solutions. Its product portfolio includes notebooks, motherboards, graphics cards, optical drives, information appliances, desktop PCs, servers, wireless solutions, mobile phones and networking devices. With world-class engineering and offices and subsidiaries located in all corners of the world, ASUSTeK provides innovative solutions to consumers, businesses and OEM/ODM customers. The company is the perennial leader of the motherboard and graphics card industries and a top 10 player globally for notebooks, optical drives, broadband modems and a wide range of other products.
NOTE: MIPS, MIPS32, 4KE, 4KEc and 4KEp are trademarks or registered trademarks of MIPS Technologies, Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks referred to herein are the property of their respective owners.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050127/sfth054_1.html
COMT...Comtech Group posted strong gains yesterday after the close & it looks like they're headed for the Nasdaq....
Comtech Group Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2004 Financial Results
Wednesday January 26, 5:48 pm ET
Company Posts Record Annual Revenue of $75.6 Million, an Increase of 75%
Earnings More Than Double to $7.5 Million, or $0.35 per Share
SHENZHEN, China, Jan. 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Comtech Group, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: COMT.OB - News), a leading module design solutions provider in China focused on the mobile handset and telecom equipment industries, today reported financial results for its fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2004.
Revenue for the full year 2004 was $75.6 million, compared to $43.2 million for the full year 2003, an increase of 75%. Net income for 2004 was $7.5 million, up 121% compared to net income of $3.4 million in 2003. Earnings per share for 2004 was $0.35, or $0.34 per share on a diluted basis, compared to $0.17 per share on both a diluted and non-diluted basis in 2003.
Revenue for the fourth quarter of 2004 was $19.4 million, up 44% from $13.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2003, and an increase of 9% from $17.8 million in the third quarter of 2004. Net income in the fourth quarter of 2004 was $2.3 million, an increase of 229% from $0.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2003, and an increase of 64% from $1.4 million in the third quarter of 2004. Earnings per share for the fourth quarter of 2004 was $0.09 per share on a diluted basis, compared to $0.03 per share on a diluted basis in the fourth quarter of 2003, and $0.07 per share on a diluted basis in the third quarter of 2004.
"Our record results for 2004 have capped an exciting year of transition and growth at Comtech," said Jeffrey Kang, Chairman and President of Comtech Group. "We have experienced over 100% earnings growth over past four years. Since the beginning of the year, we entered the U.S. public equity markets via a reverse merger, raised more than $11.0 million in a private placement, applied for listing on the Nasdaq and took steps to gain compliance with that exchange's listing requirements.
"Meanwhile, we continued to profitably grow our business on two fronts. Our telecom equipment business has experienced steady growth of approximately 20%. That segment's growth was driven by increased demand in China of broadband and optical transmission products. Revenue from mobile handset OEMs, a market we entered in 2001, more than doubled compared to 2003 for several reasons, including increased mobile phone production in China, our increased content per phone unit and new application 'design-ins' being awarded to Comtech. This segment represented 40% of our business in 2003, but now represents almost 60%," continued Kang.
"In addition to our existing industries, namely the telecom equipment and mobile handset markets, we are entering the consumer electronics industry. We will penetrate this new market by providing solutions to IPTV, set top box and digital TV manufactures. We believe that Comtech is well positioned to expand into the consumer electronics industry because many large consumer electronics companies already have existing customer relationships with us. We anticipate significant growth in three distinct multi-billion dollar markets segments in 2005.
"We are very excited about our growth prospects. We view Comtech as a gateway to the technology industry in China at a time when more manufacturing is increasingly being directed to this country. Comtech has a diversified customer base which covers virtually all of the major manufactures in our targeted industries. Our strategy to broaden our exposure beyond our traditional markets has been well executed to this point and we expect our success to continue. Lastly, we believe that there is a real opportunity to expand our library of proprietary IP, which we believe will increase our gross margins over the long term.
"I would like to thank our employees, customers, suppliers and all stakeholders for the dynamic contribution they made in 2004," concluded Kang.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050126/sfw092_1.html
PLUS...Share Buyback...
ePlus has spent the last 1½ years buying back their own shares on the open market. In fact, between 10/03 & 05/04, they bought back 533,500 shares at an average of $14 per share. (Current price = $12.07)
Now they're buying back more.
How many companies out there can show continuous growth while shrinking their outstanding shares & float? (Shares outstanding now = below 9M)
ePLUS seems to see value in their own company, even @ $14 a share....
ePlus Announces Stock Repurchase Program
Oct 1, 2003 - ePlus inc. (NasdaqNM:PLUS - News) announced today that its board of directors has authorized the repurchase from time to time of up to 3,000,000 shares of its outstanding common stock to a cumulative maximum of $7,500,000 over a period ending no later than September 30, 2004. The purchases may be made in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions, subject to availability, at prices deemed appropriate by management. The repurchased shares will have the status of treasury shares and may be used, when needed, for general corporate purposes. ePlus had approximately 9.4 million shares of common stock outstanding as of Tuesday, September 30, 2003.
http://www.eplus.com/web/BaseRenderer.aspx?ItemId=888
ePlus Announces Change to Stock Repurchase Program
Authorized Maximum Increased to $12 million
May 7, 2004 - ePlus inc. (Nasdaq NM: PLUS - news) announced today that its board of directors has approved an increase, from $7,500,000 to $12,000,000, of the maximum total cost of shares purchased under the current stock repurchase plan. The plan, which commenced on October 1, 2003, authorizes the repurchase from time to time of up to 3,000,000 shares of its outstanding common stock over a period ending no later than September 30, 2004. The purchases may be made in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions, subject to availability, at prices deemed appropriate by management. The repurchased shares will have the status of treasury shares and may be used, when needed, for general corporate purposes.
Since the commencement of the current plan, and prior to the increase authorization, ePlus had acquired more than 533,500 shares for total consideration of $7.47 million. As of May 5, 2004, there were 8,913,958 million shares of common stock outstanding.
http://www.eplus.com/web/BaseRenderer.aspx?ItemId=1419
ePlus Announces Stock Repurchase Program
November 18, 2004 – ePlus inc. (Nasdaq NM: PLUS – news) announced today that its board of directors has authorized the repurchase, over a twelve month period ending no later than November 17, 2005, of up to three million shares of its outstanding common stock, subject to a cumulative maximum of $7,500,000. The purchases may be made from time to time in the open market, or in privately negotiated transactions, subject to availability, at prices deemed appropriate by management. Any repurchased shares will have the status of treasury shares and may be used, when needed, for general corporate purposes. ePlus had approximately 8.96 million shares of common stock outstanding as of September 30, 2004.
http://www.eplus.com/web/BaseRenderer.aspx?ItemId=1912
COMT...Last week, Comtech Group announced a deal w/ Broadcom. They also just did a 1 for 2 reverse split to raise the Company's share price above $5, to gain compliance with Nasdaq's listing requirements. Earned $0.06 a share last Q (post split) on 17.8M in sales. This is from the COMT/Broadcom PR...
"The new partnership with Broadcom has already helped Comtech secure a purchase order from Lenovo Group Limited, which acquired IBM's personal computing division in December 2004. Specifically, Comtech will provide Lenovo with an Ethernet solution that incorporates Broadcom's chipsets."
Looks interesting.
Here's their last Q's filings...
http://secfilings.nasdaq.com/filingFrameset.asp?FileName=0001144204%2D04%2D018924%2Etxt&FilePath...
Share price $5.75
One of the MIPS information links didn't work. Here it is again...
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=5062080
MIPS...Here are 2 news excerpts from the Greater-China press that came out last week. To my knowledge, this news has not yet been released in the US. If you like profitable growth stocks w/ consecutive gains Q over Q, no debt and good cash, take a look at this company.
Here's the news.....
Excerpts from the Greater-China press: January 21
Editor, DigiTimes.com, Taipei [Friday 21 January 2005]
Recent news from the Chinese-language newspapers.
Asus licenses multimedia solution patents from MIPS
Asustek will introduce the S32 4KE processor, AV platform solutions and software from MIPS to its LCD-TV line. [DigiTimes]
http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20050121PR205.html
http://www.asus.com/
January 17, 2005
Editor, DigiTimes.com, Taipei [Monday 17 January 2005]
MIPS to set up offices in China
MIPS plans to set up offices in China in 1Q05 to expand its sales network. In 2004, MIPS gained eight new customers from the Greater China region, of which five are from Taiwan and three from China. [DigiTimes]
http://www.digitimes.com/systems/a20050117PR204.html
More on MIPS....
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050119/sfw083_1.htmlmessage_id=5062080
GreedandDreams signing back on as 2morrowsGains, old RB name.