Trans-Lux Reports Fourth Quarter and Annual Results
NORWALK, Conn., March 31 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Trans-Lux Corporation
(AMEX:TLX), a leading supplier of programmable electronic information displays
and operator of cinemas, today reported financial results for the fourth
quarter and year ended December 31, 2004. Trans-Lux President and Co-Chief
Executive Officer Michael R. Mulcahy made the announcement.
Revenues for 2004 totaled $52.6 million, compared with $56.0 million in 2003.
Income from continuing operations increased to $412,000 ($0.33 per share)
compared with $365,000 ($0.29 per share) in the prior year, each of which
included gains on sale of assets. Net income for 2004 (which includes the
discontinued operation of the Australian subsidiary) was $539,000 ($0.43 per
share, basic and diluted) compared with $1.1 million ($0.84 per share, basic
and $0.70 per share, diluted) in 2003. The sale/leaseback of the Company's
Norwalk, Connecticut facility during 2004 and the sales of the custom outdoor
sports business and vacant land adjacent to the Company's headquarters during
2003 each had a significant positive impact on the profitability of Trans-Lux
for those years. Cash flow, as defined by EBITDA, was $14.4 million, down from
$15.7 million reported the prior year. As of year-end, the Company had $4.6
million less debt than it did a year ago and continues to have in excess of $10
million in available cash.
"Despite tough challenges in the financial services market, which uses the
Company's equipment, the Company had a profitable year and moved forward
successfully with costs savings initiatives," Mr. Mulcahy said. "We were also
pleased with the SEC's decision to delay Sarbanes-Oxley 404 implementation for
smaller companies for one year." The Company reported fourth quarter revenues of $13.1 million, a slight
increase from $12.8 million in 2003. There was a net loss for the quarter of
$417,000 (-$0.33 per share, basic and diluted), compared with a net loss of
$39,000 (-$0.03 per share, basic and diluted) in the fourth quarter of 2003. The Company reported cash flow, as defined by EBITDA, at $3.0 million for the
quarter, compared with $3.4 million during the same period in 2003.
Factors that influenced the bottom line during the fourth quarter included
higher field service costs to maintain the Company's base of leased equipment
and maintenance contracts due to continued equipment rental losses, higher
sales salaries and related expenses and one-time costs related to refinancing
the Company's debt.
"The Entertainment/Real Estate division and the gaming and catalog scoreboard
segments had a strong quarter, but it has been difficult to stop rental
disconnects in the financial services market due to the consolidation within
that industry," said Thomas Brandt, Trans-Lux Executive Vice President and
Co-Chief Executive Officer. "Our efforts are focused on offsetting rental
revenue loss by finding new areas to expand our business, such as the outdoor
and international marketplaces." The Entertainment/Real Estate division performed strongly in 2004, although
results were down slightly from the last two record-setting years. Gross profit
and revenues for both the fourth quarter and the year were down slightly from
the same periods in 2003. This was generally in line with national box office
admissions for the year, which were below 2003. High grossing films for the
quarter included National Treasure, Ocean's Twelve, Meet the Fockers, Lemony
Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, The Incredibles and Shark Tale.
Challenges in the financial services market continued to negatively impact the
Indoor display division in 2004. While domestic equipment rental losses
continued, the Company recently secured several international orders with
various foreign stock exchanges. In the fourth quarter, the Johannesburg
Securities Exchange ordered large tileable LED GraphixWall(R) and LED Jet(R)
electronic ticker displays, which will be installed together in a large frame
that can be raised for daily public viewing and lowered to floor level when
used as a backdrop for South Africa's national television station. Additional
international orders came in the first quarter 2005 from the Multi Commodity
Exchange of India, one of the world's largest commodity exchanges in terms of
yearly trading volume, to use Trans-Lux displays in its new media center, which
is expected to be installed in the second quarter 2005. The Company also
provided DataWall(R) trading floor displays for the London Metals Exchange and
secured a series of orders from a major discount brokerage firm in Canada for
LED displays for its retail branches and call center.
The Indoor division won a number of significant orders outside the financial
services sector during the quarter, including vehicle and station displays from
a supplier of a People Mover system for a major international airport. The
Company also secured orders for a 180-foot LED Jet electronic ticker for the
lobby of an office building in the Washington, D.C. area and from a major food
retailer for an ongoing regional rollout program of in-store promotional
displays. Additional sales of display applications for business school
classroom applications continued during the fourth quarter.
The gaming sector of the Indoor division performed well in 2004, and won
several additional orders for sports book display systems for casinos in the
fourth quarter. The gaming sector also secured a major order in the Outdoor
division from Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino in Altoona, Iowa. The
large, two-sided RainbowWall(R) full color RGB video display will highlight
current and upcoming events to motorists as they approach the casino.
Trans-Lux is a worldwide, full-service provider of integrated multimedia
systems for today's communications environments. The essential elements of
these systems are real-time, programmable electronic information displays we
manufacture, distribute and service. Designed to meet the evolving
communications needs of both the indoor and outdoor markets, these displays are
used primarily in applications for the financial, banking, gaming, corporate,
transportation, entertainment and sports industries. In addition to its
display business, the Company owns and operates a chain of motion picture
theatres in the western Mountain States.
Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995 The Company may, from time to time, provide estimates as to future
performances. These forward-looking statements will be estimates and may or may
not be realized by the Company. The Company undertakes no duty to update such
forward-looking statements. Many factors could cause actual results to differ
from these forward-looking statements, including loss of market share through
competition, introduction of competing products by others, pressure on prices
from competition or purchasers of the Company's products, interest rate and
foreign exchange fluctuations, terrorist acts and war.
TRANS-LUX CORPORATION TABLE OF OPERATIONS
(Unaudited) THREE MONTHS ENDED TWELVE MONTHS ENDED
DECEMBER 31 DECEMBER 31 (In thousands, except per share data) 2004 2003 2004 2003 (2) Revenues $13,073 $12,769 $52,579 $56,022 Net income (loss):
Income from continuing operations (417) (39) 412 365
Income from discontinued operation (1) - 155 127 689
Net income (loss) (417) 116 539 1,054 Calculation of EBITDA - add:
Interest expense, net 1,022 930 3,731 3,873
Provision for income taxes (171) (89) 427 658
Depreciation and amortization 2,594 2,499 9,852 9,889
Effect of discontinued operation (1) - (102) (170) 218
EBITDA (3) $3,028 $3,354 $14,379 $15,692 Earnings (loss) per share - continuing
operations:
Basic ($0.33) ($0.03) $0.33 $0.29
Diluted ($0.33) ($0.03) $0.33 $0.29 Earnings per share - discontinued
operation:
Basic - $0.12 $0.10 $0.55
Diluted - $0.05 $0.03 $0.20 Total earnings (loss) per share:
Basic ($0.33) $0.10 $0.43 $0.84
Diluted ($0.33) $0.10 $0.43 $0.70 Average common shares outstanding:
Basic 1,261 1,261 1,261 1,261
Diluted 1,261 3,421 3,932 3,421 (1) Discontinued operation represents the Australian subsidiary, which
was sold in April 2004.
(2) During the first quarter of 2003, the Company sold its Custom Sports
business and is therefore posting lower revenues since there were no
further sales from Custom Sports after the first quarter of 2003.
(3) EBITDA is defined as earnings before effect of interest, income
taxes, depreciation and amortization. EBITDA is presented here
because it is a widely accepted financial indicator of a company's
ability to service and/or incur indebtedness. However, EBITDA should
not be considered as an alternative to net income or cash flow data
prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles
or as a measure of a company's profitability or liquidity. The
Company's measure of EBITDA may not be comparable to similarly titled
measures reported by other companies. DATASOURCE: Trans-Lux Corporation CONTACT: Angela D. Toppi, Executive Vice President & CFO of Trans-Lux Corporation, +1-203-853-4321, or Web site: http://www.trans-lux.com/
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