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Archive 2005
(Calgary, Alberta, Canada, December 15, 2005) - NovAtel Inc. (NASDAQ: NGPS) announced today that it has been awarded a contract by CMC Electronics Inc., to undertake development of a Galileo Safety of Life (SoL) demonstrator receiver for the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). The value of this contract is CDN$500,000. Galileo is Europe’s state-of-the-art satellite navigation system, which is expected to be operational by 2008/10 with up to 30 satellites orbiting the earth, and which is expected to offer several services, including the Safety of Life Service, as a benefit to users equipped with Galileo-compatible receivers. NovAtel will develop a new Galileo E5a/E5b receiver section for addition to the existing Galileo Test Receiver, which NovAtel had previously developed for the CSA under a Space Technology Development Program contract awarded in September 2004. A modified CMC Electronics CMA-3024 Global Navigation Satellite Sensor Unit airborne receiver will be integrated with the NovAtel receiver. The Galileo Test Receiver originally produced for CSA evaluation and for possible monitoring of prototype Galileo satellites, is based on a modified version of NovAtel’s WAAS-GII system, and contains the first operational, near-production standard, dual mode GPS and Galileo dual frequency receiver in North America. Under the new program, CMC Electronics and NovAtel will also jointly support review and feedback of elements of a parallel Galileo Safety of Life program undertaken by a team of European companies. According to Tony Murfin, NovAtel’s Vice President, Business Development, “The SoL program with CMC Electronics and the CSA represents a further key project which adds to NovAtel’s growing inventory of Galileo receiver technology. We are pleased that the CSA continues to provide key leadership in Canada’s efforts to maintain pace with Europe’s extensive investment in the Galileo program, and we look forward to assisting them in their early support of Galileo signal testing.” Added Bruce Bailey, CMC Electronics’ Vice President, Commercial Aviation, “ CMC Electronics has more than twenty-five years’ experience in the design and manufacture of certified aviation Global Positioning System (GPS) products and is an industry leader in GPS for commercial aviation. The Galileo Safety of Life contract award will ensure that CMC Electronics continues to be at the forefront of this new technology.” About NovAtel NovAtel designs, markets and sells high-precision GPS and other positioning components and sub-systems used in a wide variety of commercial applications principally in the aviation, geomatics (surveying and mapping), mining, precision agriculture, marine and defence industries. NovAtel is also the principal supplier of reference receivers to national aviation ground networks in the US, Japan, Europe, China and India. NovAtel’s solutions combine hardware, such as receivers and antennas, with software to enable its customers to fully integrate the Company’s high-precision GPS technology into their respective products and systems. NovAtel, an ISO 9001 certified company, is focused on supplying core high-precision positioning technology to OEMs and system integrators who build systems for various end market applications. For more information, visit www.novatel.com. About CMC Electronics CMC Electronics designs and produces leading technology electronics products for the aviation and global positioning markets. Its principal locations are in Montreal, Quebec; Ottawa, Ontario; and Chicago, Illinois. CMC is a private company controlled by an investor group led by ONCAP L.P. ONCAP is a CDN $400 million investment fund established by Onex Corporation and a number of leading Canadian financial institutions. Onex is a diversified company with annual consolidated revenues of approximately CDN $16 billion and consolidated assets of approximately CDN $14 billion. Onex is one of Canada's largest companies with global operations in the service, manufacturing and technology industries. Certain statements in this news release, including those about the Company’s prospects for additional Galileo projects, 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’’, “forecast” 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 the Company’s joint venture Point, Inc. (“Point”), impact and timing of large orders, U.S. dollar to Canadian dollar exchange rate fluctuations, establishing and maintaining effective distribution channels, timely launch of new products, certification and market acceptance of NovAtel’s new products, impact and timing of large orders, credit risks of customers and the Company’s joint venture Point, pricing pressures in the market and other competitive factors, maintaining technological leadership, timing of revenue recognition in connection with certain contracts, the ability to maintain supply of products from subcontract manufacturers, the procurement of components to build products, product defects, the impact of industry consolidations, vulnerability to general economic, market and business conditions, competition, environmental and other actions by governmental authorities, reliance on key personnel and other factors described in the Company’s Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2004 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.
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