Financial Analysts: Media: Ng Keh Long Rick Myllenbeck Director of Corporate Planning Public Relations Director
Sales for the third quarter of fiscal 1996 were US$282.1 million, compared to US$280.5 million for the same quarter last year. Net loss for the quarter was US$33.1 million, compared to a net income of US$11.2 million for the same quarter last year. Loss per share was US$0.38 for the quarter, compared to income of US$0.13 per share for the same quarter last year.
Included in the results for the quarter was US$32.0 million for inventory and pricing adjustments relating to CD-ROM drives. Prices for these components decreased sharply during the quarter. This industry-wide price decline required not only the inventory and pricing adjustments in the third quarter but also negatively affected gross-margins during that quarter. Also included in the operating expenses for the quarter was a one-time US$4.6 million charge for a settlement agreement with Reveal Computer Products, Inc.
"In the third quarter, Creative and the entire CD-ROM drive industry were strongly affected by the drastic decline in prices for CD-ROM drives," said Sim Wong Hoo, chairman and chief executive officer of Creative Technology Ltd. "Despite the industry-wide drop in CD-ROM drive prices, Creative has weathered the storm. Demand for our multimedia upgrade kits and core audio products remained strong in the third quarter -- and continues to be strong -- and the fundamentals of the company are solid."
Sales for the nine months ended March 31, 1996 were US$1,015.8 million compared to US$931.7 million for the comparable period last year. Net income for the first nine months of fiscal 1996 was US$0.5 million, compared to US$50.5 million for the corresponding period of the prior year. Earnings per share for the nine months ended March 31, 1996 were US$0.01, compared to US$0.56 for the corresponding period last year.
In the past several months, Creative has made a number of announcements that contribute to its goals of setting standards in multimedia and creating and adopting the most advanced technology. In extending its award-winning line of multimedia products, Creative introduced three new high-end, wave-table multimedia upgrade kits. These kits feature the latest in Creative's Sound Blaster® audio and high-speed CD-ROM technology and provide the customer with a more realistic and immersive multimedia experience. Targeted at both the first time buyer and at users looking to upgrade their older PCs, the new kits deliver premium performance at an affordable price.
Also announced were three new Graphics Blaster multimedia accelerator cards, which bring high performance graphics and high-quality enhanced video playback -- including MPEG -- to customers at an unprecedented low price. All three Graphics Blaster models feature high-performance 64-bit accelerator technology.
Safe Harbor Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995:
The future product availability dates, future financial guidance and other non-historical information contained herein and/or in the accompanying conference call are subject to the attached cautionary statements which are provided pursuant to The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Creative Technology Ltd., is the world's leading provider of advanced multimedia solutions for personal computers, including sound, graphics, communications and video conferencing products. The company's Sound Blaster technology has been accepted as the worldwide standard sound platform for PCs, and the company's global distribution network is the most extensive in the multimedia industry. Creative is focused on enhancing the overall user experience by providing powerful, enabling, high-value technology for the mass market.
Balance Sheets & Statements of Income
Sound Blaster is a registered trademark and Blaster and Graphics Blaster are trademarks of Creative Technology Ltd. All other products mentioned herein are trademarks of their respective owners and are hereby recognized as such.
Safe Harbor for Forward Looking Statements:
Except for the historical information contained herein and in the accompanying conference call on today's date, the matters set forth herein and in the accompanying conference call (including our guidance on future revenues, margins, expenses and earnings) are forward looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in the forward looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, among others: potential fluctuations in quarterly results due to the seasonality of Creative's business and the difficulty of projecting such fluctuations; reductions in the cost of products sold by Creative; the short product cycles that characterize most of Creative's products; the increasing proliferation of sound functionality at the chip and OEM level; Creative's reliance on sole sources for many of its chips and other key components; the timely ramp, delivery and market acceptance of new products, including Creative's graphics accelerator, video conferencing, CD-ROM drive and communications products; the availability of operating capital and capital to refinance Creative's outstanding long term debt on acceptable terms; the volatility of share prices for companies in Creative's industry and the effect on those prices of events beyond Creative's control; and the other risk factors described in Creative's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission over the past twelve months.