Business News
Franklin Electronic Publishers Reports Profitable Third Quarter Results
Friday 06. February 2009 - Franklin Electronic Publishers, Incorporated (NYSE Alternext US: FEP), a world leader in electronic handheld information, today reported a net income of $733,000 or $.09 per share for the quarter ended December 31, 2008 compared with net income of $741,000 or $.09 per share in the same quarter last year.
Sales for the third fiscal quarter of 2009 decreased 21% to $13,535,000 from $17,044,000 for the same quarter in the prior year.
Sales into the global retail markets across all regional segments declined primarily due to the worldwide economic crisis and its impact on consumer spending during the holiday season. Despite these pressures, overall margins improved primarily due to increased technology licensing revenue from the Company’s Proximity Division, while margins from the retail markets were consistent quarter on quarter.
For the nine months ended December 31, 2008, total sales decreased 17% to $37,962,000 from $45,698,000 for the same period last year. Net loss for the nine months was $663,000 or $.08 per share, compared to a net income of $3,592,000 or $.44 per share in the prior period. The prior year results included a $2,400,000 benefit to net income from Seiko Instruments, Inc. (SII) in consideration for the elimination of minimum purchase commitments in the agreements under which SII distributed Franklin products in Japan and Franklin distributed SII products in the United States and Germany. Excluding the impact of the SII payment, net income for the nine months ended December 31, 2007 would have been $1,192,000 or $.14 per share.
Barry Lipsky, Franklin’s President and Chief Executive Officer, stated “I am pleased that we are able to report a modest profit while being in the worst economic recession most of us can remember. These external pressures continue to underscore our diligence in maintaining strong margins and operating cost reduction initiatives to preserve our strong cash balance sheet. We continue to cautiously execute our strategic initiatives to capitalize on our strong distribution and consumer reach to reverse the top line trend. However, we expect revenue to continue to decline during our current fourth fiscal quarter.”