5/5/2004 4:04:00 PM
BOTHELL, Wash.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–May 5, 2004–
Record Flic bar code scanner sales highlights Q1; Nomad
achieves product certification milestone and “recommended tool” status
Microvision, Inc. (NASDAQ:MVIS), a leader in light scanning
technologies, today reported preliminary financial results for the
first quarter of 2004. Revenue for the three months ended March 31,
2004 was $3.0 million compared to $3.5 million for the same period in
2003. Contract revenue was $2.3 million for the first quarter of 2004
compared to $3.4 million for the same period last year. Product
revenue was $675,000 for the first quarter of 2004 compared to
$135,000 last year. Substantially all of the product revenue in the
first quarter of 2004 was derived from sales of the Flic bar code
scanner. As of March 31, 2004 backlog totaled $3.0 million of which
$2.7 million was for development contracts, $239,000 for Nomad units
and $93,000 for the Flic laser bar code scanner and accessories.
The company reported a consolidated net loss of approximately $6.7
million or $0.31 per share the first quarter of 2004 compared to $7.4
million or $0.46 per share in the same period in 2003. The company
expects to issue its financial statements for the first quarter in the
next few days.
The company, including Lumera, ended the quarter with $14.8
million in cash, cash equivalents and investment securities.
Subsequent to the end of the quarter, Lumera completed a $2.3 million
convertible note and warrant financing.
The company indicated that it expects second quarter revenue to
increase significantly from the first quarter due to expected
shipments of the Nomad Expert Technician System, a continued level of
strong sales of the Flic bar code scanner and higher revenue from
development contracts.
“Our first quarter revenue is typically our seasonal low quarter
and we anticipated that contract revenue would be impacted by a lower
level of activity due to our emphasis on moving Nomad into final
production,” said Microvision CEO Rick Rutkowski. “However, we are
very encouraged by sales of the Flic scanner in the first quarter,
which exceeded our expectations, and with the Nomad backlog and
growing order activity. Nomad is currently in limited production and
we expect to begin to ramp to higher production levels this month and
throughout the quarter. We are shipping Nomad units to our independent
sales network to initiate sales activity and we expect to begin
shipping units to customers soon.
“Honda has recently completed certification of the Nomad Expert
Technician System and has designated the system as a “recommended
tool” for its dealers. Honda has circulated a demand survey to its
dealers and we expect that they will formally announce availability of
the product next week and begin accepting orders through their
internal parts and service representatives.
“This work with Honda is an important part of our OEM sales
distribution strategy. We are building a sales distribution network to
rollout Nomad to both OEMs and to make direct sales to individual
dealers and dealer groups across the country. The OEM team is in place
and actively working rollout initiatives with several OEMs. We have
signed, or are about to sign, agreements with independent sales
representatives who will sell Nomads in the West Coast, Sunbelt,
Southeast, and Northeast areas. Once in place, we expect to have 75 to
100 sales professionals selling Nomads and we expect sales volume to
ramp quickly.
“The Army has completed testing of Nomad at the Joint Requirements
Training Center in Fort Polk, Louisiana with a second brigade of
Stryker vehicles and we continue to be optimistic that we will receive
a follow-on order in the second quarter.
“We had an outstanding first quarter with sales of the Flic bar
code scanner and we believe that we are well positioned for sequential
growth in the second quarter and throughout the year. First quarter
sales were primarily through NCR in the United States and other
countries for retail point of sale applications. In the second
quarter, we have seen our sales broaden to include mobility customers
in the U.S., Asia and Canada. Two positive trends are beginning to
emerge. First, the number of higher volume sales opportunities are
increasing, both in terms of the number of units that would comprise
an initial order and in terms of the total possible market
opportunity. Second, we are seeing repeat orders from existing
customers that are increasing in the number of units ordered. These
trends, combined with our overall sales activity, point to a solid
growth picture for the Flic bar code scanner this year.
“We anticipate, during the current quarter, the award of a
development contract by the U.S. Army to continue work on the Virtual
Cockpit Optimization Program. To date the Army has provided more than
$25 million in support of this important project. We continue to
progress toward the completion of this next-generation helmet mounted
display for helicopter pilots.
“We continue to make strong progress on development projects
related to OEM products in our pipeline, including automotive
displays, consumer electronics work with Canon and the development of
a high-speed color laser print engine. We are particularly encouraged
by growing interest by automakers and Tier 1 suppliers in head-up
displays for the automobile. The timing for us is excellent; the
market appears to be reaching an inflection point. We believe that
laser-based HUDs have unique and compelling advantages over competing
solutions based on flat panel display technology.
“In the first quarter, Lumera introduced its Accupath family of
compact panel antennas for WiFi and smart antenna applications and
systems. The first product, the AccuPath 5.25 GHz antenna is now
available for commercial production and is being evaluated by a
potential customer. Lumera’s NanoCapture Array, a disposable biochip
fabricated with a proprietary polymer coating and process, is also
being evaluated by a potential customer.
“The focus in 2004 remains on product execution for Nomad and the
Flic bar code scanner and continuing progress on our OEM product
development activities. We remain bullish on the outlook for product
sales in 2004 for Nomad and the Flic laser bar code scanner and look
forward to growing both our product and overall revenues.”
Conference Call
Microvision will host a conference call to discuss its first
quarter of 2004 financial results at 4:30 p.m. ET today. Participants
may join the conference call by dialing (800) 299-8538 (for U.S.
participants) ten minutes prior to the start of the conference.
International participants can dial (617) 786-2902. The conference
passcode number is 54286205. Additionally, the call will be broadcast
over the Internet and can be accessed from the company’s web site at
www.microvision.com. A telephone replay of the call will be available
through 6:30 p.m. ET May 12, 2003 and can be accessed by dialing
888-286-8010 (for U.S. participants) or 617-801-6888 (for
international participants). The passcode is 68874889. Also, a replay
of the conference call will be available on the company’s web site.
About Microvision: www.microvision.com
Headquartered in Bothell, Wash., Microvision Inc. is the world
leader in the development of high-resolution displays and imaging
systems based on the company’s proprietary silicon micro-mirror
technology. The company’s technology has applications in a broad range
of military, medical, industrial, professional and consumer products.
Microvision has been working with Canon, BMW, the Electronics
Research Lab of Volkswagen of America and others to develop a number
of display and image capture product applications based on its
proprietary scanned beam technology.
About Lumera: www.lumera.com
Lumera uses its expertise in nanotechnology to develop polymer
materials and products based on those materials for a broad range of
applications, including wireless antennas and systems, biotechnology
disposables, electro-optic devices and polymer-based products for
government applications.
Forward-Looking Statements Disclaimer
Certain statements contained in this release, including expected
results, projections of future revenues, plans for product development
and production volume, future development contracts and commercial
arrangements, growth in demand, future product benefits and future
operations, as well as statements containing words like
“believes,””estimate,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “target,” “plans,”
“will”, “could” and other similar expressions, are forward-looking
statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Factors
that could cause actual results to differ materially from those
projected in the company’s forward-looking statements include the
following: our ability to raise additional capital when needed; market
acceptance of our technologies and products; our financial and
technical resources relative to those of our competitors; our ability
to keep up with rapid technological change; our dependence on the
defense industry and a limited number of government development
contracts; government regulation of our technologies; our ability to
enforce our intellectual property rights and protect our proprietary
technologies; the ability to obtain additional contract awards; the
timing of commercial product launches and delays in product
development; the ability to achieve key technical milestones in key
products; dependence on third parties to develop, manufacture, sell
and market our products; potential product liability claims and other
risk factors identified from time to time in the company’s SEC
reports, including the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with
the SEC. Except as expressly required by the federal securities laws,
we undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
future events, changes in circumstances or any other reason.
CONTACT: Microvision
Brian Heagler (investors), 425-415-6794
Matt Nichols (media), 425-415-6657
SOURCE: Microvision