Teletouch Reports Results for Third Quarter of Fiscal 2004
TYLER, Texas, April 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Teletouch Communications,
Inc. today reported results for the third quarter and nine months ended
February 29, 2004.
"Teletouch recorded its first commercial sales of telemetry devices on
contracts in the third fiscal quarter," stated J. Kernan Crotty, President of
Teletouch Communications, Inc. "The initial sales cycle for these products has
been much longer than we initially anticipated; however, early feedback from
field testing by potential customers has been positive. During the quarter we
sold almost $100,000 of telemetry equipment and services and we have a number
of customers with telemetry products in the testing phase." "We completed the acquisition of Delta Communications' two-way business late in
the third quarter. The acquisition increased our penetration of the
Dallas/Forth Worth market and is operating ahead of plan. We look forward to
significant synergies from the integration of the Delta business and the major
opportunities that exist in the Dallas/Fort Worth market area," concluded Mr. Crotty.
In addition, the Company recently announced that it has teamed with Quake
Global to introduce two dual-mode satellite/terrestrial modems in the United
States. The modems facilitate wireless communication over low earth orbit
satellites, as well as either the CDMA or GSM networks, making them ideal
choices for fleet managers whose tracking systems must be able to access the
satellite network when the cellular network is unavailable, and vice versa.
Third Quarter 2004 Results Total revenues for the third quarter were $6.6 million compared with $8.2
million in the third quarter of fiscal 2003. The revenue decline since last
year was primarily due to fewer pagers in operation, a reduction in average
revenue per pager* (ARPU), and the Company's decision to exit its retail
business last year. Pagers in service declined 17.3% to 190,371 compared with
230,092 for the third quarter of fiscal 2003. The decline in pagers in service
was the result of lower demand for one-way paging services. ARPU declined to
$8.78 in the latest quarter compared with $8.84 for the third quarter of fiscal
2003 due to competition and product mix. Product sales declined to $0.8
million compared with $1.4 million in the third quarter of last fiscal year
primarily due to the Company's exit from its retail business.
Operating and selling expense declined in the latest quarter primarily due to
the exit from the retail business and on-going reductions in operating expense
due to continued optimization of our network. The operating loss for the third
quarter of fiscal 2004 included $0.3 million of non-cash charges related to the
abandonment of computer software.
Net loss applicable to common stockholders was $435,000 in the third quarter of
fiscal 2004 compared with net income applicable to common stockholders of $1.2
million in the third quarter of fiscal 2003. The results for 2003 include
$510,000 in gain on debt extinguishment and $429,000 in gain on litigation
settlement. Net loss per diluted share was $0.10 on 4.5 million weighted
average shares outstanding compared with net income per share of $0.02 on 54.6
million weighted average shares outstanding in the same period of the prior
year. Teletouch's shares outstanding have not changed materially between the
two periods; however, in accordance with generally accepted accounting
principles dilutive shares are not included when a loss is reported for the
period. This accounts for the difference in weighted average shares
outstanding between the two periods.
*Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures ARPU is defined as average revenue per unit. Teletouch presents ARPU because
its management uses the measure to evaluate the Company's performance and to
allocate resources. In addition, Teletouch believes ARPU is a measure of
performance used by some commercial banks, investment banks, investors,
analysts and others to make informed investment decisions. ARPU is not a
measure of financial performance under generally accepted accounting principles
and should not be considered as a substitute for or superior to other measures
of financial performance reported in accordance with GAAP.
About Teletouch Communications, Inc.
Teletouch Communications provides wireless messaging, telemetry services,
cellular and two-way radio communications services in Alabama, Arkansas,
Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas and Tennessee. The
Company focuses on smaller metropolitan markets where it believes there are
less competition and more opportunity for internal growth than in larger
metropolitan areas. Teletouch's common stock is traded on the American Stock
Exchange under the stock symbol TLL.
Additional financial information on Teletouch is available at the Internet web
address: http://www.teletouch.com/
Teletouch Paging services are available at:
http://www.teletouch.com/ The statements in this press release which are not historical fact are
forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties including, but
not limited to, pricing by competitors, entry of new competitors, changes in
the paging industry, regulatory approvals and developments and other risks
detailed in current filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended
February 29, February 28, February 29, February 28,
2004 2003 2004 2003 Service, rent and
maintenance revenue $5,783 $ 6,781 $17,816 $21,413
Product sales revenue 769 1,421 2,240 5,970
Total revenues 6,552 8,202 20,056 27,383 Net book value of
products sold (691) (1,335) (1,885) (4,460)
5,861 6,867 18,171 22,923 Operating income (loss) (492) 431 (185) (1,910) Net income (loss) (435) 1,195 (384) (1,245)
Net income (loss)
applicable to common
shareholders $(435) $1,195 $(384) $35,132 Earnings (loss) per share
Basic $(0.10) $0.27 $(0.08) $7.52
Diluted $(0.10) $0.02 $(0.08) $0.34 Weighted average shares
outstanding
Basic 4,546,980 4,496,980 4,546,980 4,674,378
Diluted 4,546,980 54,580,195 4,546,980 104,541,730
TELETOUCH COMMUNICATIONS, INC. Selected Balance Sheet Highlights
(In thousands) February 29, May 31,
2004 2003 Cash and cash equivalents $291 $688
Short-term debt 45 109
Current portion of long-term debt 39 --
Long-term debt, net of current portion 429 760
DATASOURCE: Teletouch Communications, Inc.
CONTACT: Robert M. McMurrey, Chairman of Teletouch Communications, Inc., +1-800-865-8353 Web site: http://www.teletouch.com/
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