Precise thinking  

Archive 2004

NovAtel Inc. Reports Record Financial Results for the Third Quarter 2004

FOR RELEASE OCTOBER 28, 2004 

Contact:

Sonia Ross (403) 295-4532

   

(Calgary, Alberta, Canada, October 28, 2004)— NovAtel Inc. (NASDAQ: NGPS), a global positioning systems manufacturer, today announced its financial results for the third quarter ended October 2, 20041

Revenues in the third quarter 2004 were CDN $13.8 million (US $10.4 million) compared to CDN $10.9 million (US $7.9 million) in the similar period a year ago.  The Company is reporting net income for the third quarter 2004 of CDN $2.9 million (US $2.2 million) or CDN $0.36 (US $0.27) per share – basic compared to a net income of CDN $1.7 million (US $1.2 million) or CDN $0.22 (US $0.16) per share – basic in the similar period a year ago.

Revenues in the nine months ended October 2, 2004 were CDN $39.6 million (US $29.7 million) compared to CDN $27.3 million (US $18.9 million) in the similar period a year ago.  The Company is reporting net income for the nine months ended October 2, 2004 of CDN $7.0 million (US $5.3 million) or CDN $0.88 (US $0.66) per share - basic compared to a net income of CDN $2.4 million (US $1.7 million) or CDN $0.31 (US $0.21) per share – basic, in the similar period a year ago.

“This quarter’s results represent our fourth consecutive quarter of record revenue and the highest quarterly net income from continuing operations in NovAtel’s history,” said Jon Ladd, President and CEO.  “Revenue for the quarter was driven by strong sales in our Special Applications as well as our Aerospace and Defence categories.  We believe we have laid a foundation for our revenue growth by focusing on a true OEM strategy of providing core precision positioning components and subsystems to a wide range of markets.  Additionally, our Q3 financial results were noticeably augmented due to hardware sales in the Aerospace and Defence category, which tend to rely on the timing of large government contracts.”

“In our Special Applications category, our third quarter 2004 revenue grew 32% year over year.  The majority of this year over year increase is attributable to shipments to our customer Leica Geosystems, increased product shipments into China, and higher revenue from the L1 product line we acquired in May of 2003 from CMC Electronics,” continued Ladd. “Demand for our precision positioning components and subsystems continues to be strong and is expected to be the long-term growth receiver for NovAtel.”

“In our Aerospace and Defence category, our third quarter revenue grew by 41% over the similar period a year ago, largely due to increased revenues from Raytheon Company for three contracts related to the next generation Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) program.  Hardware deliveries to Raytheon Company contributed almost $1.8 million to our third quarter 2004 revenues,” continued Ladd.  “These sales reflect our leadership in GPS-based ground infrastructure in support of future air traffic control systems.”

“Geomatics revenue in the third quarter of 2004 decreased slightly over the similar period a year ago, primarily due to the negative impact on our revenues of the weaker US dollar,” concluded Ladd.

“We view the third quarter of 2004 as a particularly strong quarter for NovAtel from a financial performance perspective,” commented Werner Gartner, NovAtel’s Executive Vice President and CFO.  “A number of factors, particularly increased revenue, including the aviation hardware shipments, and higher gross margins as a percentage of revenue contributed to net income of CDN $2.9 million for the third quarter of 2004.”

“In addition, the strong operating results allowed us to continue to strengthen our balance sheet.  We generated positive operating cash flow for the twelfth consecutive quarter and increased our cash/short-term investments balance to over $21 million as of October 2nd,” concluded Gartner.

The Company is revising its previously issued guidance for the full year 2004 to reflect the results of the first nine months of 2004.  The Company is currently forecasting revenue of CDN $51.0 to $53.0 million, compared to earlier guidance of between CDN $49 and $50.5 million; and net income of CDN $8.0 to $8.8 million, compared to earlier guidance of between CDN $6.0 and $6.5 million.  This guidance assumes that the US dollar relative to the Canadian dollar remains at current levels of approximately $1.22 Canadian dollar per US dollar.

The US dollar financial information presented above is translated from the Canadian dollar financial information at the average rates in effect during the relevant reporting periods, as follows:

 

Three months ended

 

Nine months ended

 

Oct. 2,

Sep. 28,

 

Oct. 2,

Sep. 28,

 

2004

2003

 

2004

2003

Canadian dollar per US dollar

$1.327

$1.380

 

$1.332

$1.450

1The third quarter 2004 ended on October 2, 2004, based on the company’s general practice, subject to timing constraints, of closing interim quarters on the Saturday closest to the calendar quarter end (September 30, 2004).  The third quarter 2004 included 94 days of operating activities, compared to 91 days in the third quarter of 2003.

* * * *

During the conference call scheduled for this afternoon, the Company will be providing updates and further information on the following:  revenues from the Special Applications, Aerospace & Defence and Geomatics categories; the recent shipments to Raytheon Company; Point, Inc.; and the Company’s outlook for the remainder of 2004.

The Company will have a conference call today at 4:30 p.m. ET.  Participants may access the NovAtel Inc. conference call by dialing 888-334-7880 (North America) or 416-695-9722 (International).  This call is also being web cast and can be accessed at NovAtel’s web site www.novatel.com or at www.fulldisclosure.com.

A replay of the conference call will be available until November 4, 2004 by dialing 1-866-518-1010 (North America) or 416-695-5275 (International), or until January 15, 2005 at the web addresses noted above.

The web cast is also being distributed over CCBN’s Investor Distribution Network to both institutional and individual investors.  Individual investors can listen to the call through CCBN’s individual investor centre at www.fulldisclosure.com or by visiting any of the investor sites in CCBN’s Individual Investor Network such as America Online’s Personal Finance Channel, Fidelity Investments® (Fidelity.com) and others.   Institutional investors can access the call via CCBN’s password-protected event management site, StreetEvents (www.streetevents.com). 

Certain statements in this news release, including those about the Company’s future plans and intentions, financial guidance, long-term growth prospects, levels of activity or other future events, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are not based on historical facts but rather on management’s current expectations regarding NovAtel’s future growth, results of operations, performance, future capital and other expenditures, competitive advantages, business prospects and opportunities. Wherever possible, words such as ‘‘anticipate’’, ‘‘believe’’, ‘‘expect’’, ‘‘may’’, ‘‘could’’, ‘‘will’’, ‘‘potential’’, ‘‘intend’’, ‘‘estimate’’, ‘‘should’’, ‘‘plan’’, ‘‘predict’’ or the negative or other variations of these words, or similar words or phrases, have been used to identify these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve significant known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Many factors could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from the results discussed or implied in the forward-looking statements, including operating results of Point, establishing and maintaining effective distribution channels, certification and market acceptance of NovAtel’s new products, impact and timing of large orders, credit risks of customers and Point, pricing pressures in the market and other competitive factors, maintaining technological leadership, timing of revenue recognition in connection with certain contracts, U.S. dollar to Canadian dollar exchange rate fluctuations, actions by governmental authorities,  and other factors described in our Form 20-F and other SEC filings, many of which are beyond the control of NovAtel. These factors should be considered carefully and undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release, and NovAtel assumes no obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances.

 

 

NOVATEL INC.

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(in Canadian $ thousands)
(Unaudited)

 

Oct. 2,

 

Dec. 31,

 

2004

 

2003

ASSETS

     

Current assets:

   

   Cash and short term investments..........................

$ 21,081

$ 13,000

   Accounts receivable...........................................

     7,299

     6,383

   Related party receivables.....................................

     1,439

     1,081

   Related party notes receivable..............................

     1,683

     1,721

   Inventories.......................................................

     4,851

     4,782

   Prepaid expenses and deposits..............................

      359

      357

       Total current assets........................................

   36,712

   27,324

     

Capital assets.......................................................

     3,800

     3,700

Intangible assets...................................................

     2,187

     1,991

Deferred development costs....................................

   2,485

   2,557

               Total assets..........................................

$ 45,184

$ 35,572

 

LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY

     

Current liabilities:

   

   Accounts payable and accrued liabilities.................

  $ 8,114

  $ 5,868

   Related party payables........................................

       448

       935

   Notes payable...................................................

     1,683

     1,721

   Deferred revenue...............................................

       698

       312

   Provision for future warranty costs........................

       513

       410

   Capital lease obligations – current portion...............

         1

      100

       Total current liabilities.....................................

   11,457

     9,346

     

Deferred gain on sale/leaseback of capital assets........

       481

       567

Related party payables – long-term portion................

       102

       212

       Total liabilities................................................

  12,040

 10,125

     

Shareholders' equity:

   

   Capital stock.....................................................

   37,615

   37,012

   Contributed surplus.............................................

       528

         13

   Deficit..............................................................

  (4,999)

(11,578)

       Total shareholders' equity................................

  33,144

  25,447

          Total liabilities and shareholders' equity...........

$ 45,184

$ 35,572

 

NOVATEL INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(in Canadian $ thousands, except per share data)
(Unaudited)

 

Three months ended

 

Nine months ended

 

Oct. 2,

Sep. 28,

 

Oct. 2,

Sep. 28,

 

  2004 

  2003 

 

2004

2003

Revenues:

         

   Product sales.....................

$12,743

$  9,172

 

$35,194

$ 22,222

   NRE fees...........................

   1,034

   1,752

 

   4,367

   5,115

      Total revenues...............

  13,777

  10,924

 

  39,561

  27,337

           

Cost of sales:

         

   Cost of product sales..........

     4,763

    4,155

 

   13,884

  10,321

   Cost of NRE fees................

      646

      842

 

   2,418

   2,605

       Total cost of sales..........

   5,409

   4,997

 

  16,302

  12,926

           

Gross profit..........................

   8,368

   5,927

 

  23,259

  14,411

           

Operating expenses:

         

   Research and development...

     2,394

    2,095

 

     6,830

   5,185

   Selling and marketing..........

     1,485

    1,376

 

     4,533

   3,790

   General and administration...

     1,325

    1,175

 

     3,935

   3,038

   Share offering costs............

        20

       -

 

      742

       -

      Total operating expenses.

   5,224

   4,646

 

  16,040

  12,013

           

Operating income..................

     3,144

    1,281

 

     7,219

   2,398

           

Interest income, net..............

         87

         48

 

       195

      146

Other income (expense).........

    (342)

     (28)

 

    (327)

     (434)

           

Income from continuing operations

   before income taxes............

     2,889

    1,301

 

     7,087

   2,110

           

Provision for income taxes.......

        18

        14

 

        52

        35

           

Net income from continuing operations...........................

     2,871

    1,287

 

    7,035

   2,075

           

Income (loss) from discontinued

   operations.........................

        -

      372

 

         -

      344

           

Net income..........................

$ 2,871

$ 1,659

 

$ 7,035

$  2,419

           

Net income per share (basic)

         

    Continuing operations.............

   $  0.36

   $  0.17

 

$    0.88

$    0.27

    Discontinued operations..........

       0.00

       0.05

 

      0.00

      0.04

        Net income per share (basic).........................................

   $ 0.36

   $ 0.22

 

$    0.88

$    0.31

           

    Weighted average shares outstanding

        (basic).................................

 8,069

7,696

 

8,033

7,690

           

Net income per share (diluted)

         

    Continuing operations.............

   $  0.33

   $  0.16

 

$    0.82

$    0.26

    Discontinued operations..........

       0.00

       0.05

 

      0.00

      0.04

        Net income per share (diluted).......................................

$  0.33

$  0.21

 

$    0.82

$    0.30

           

    Weighted average shares outstanding
       (diluted)...............................

 8,584

8,017

 

8,562

7,957