EX-99.1 2 xt907918ex991.htm

Message



NEWS RELEASE

 

 

Date:

November 30, 2004

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

 

Contact:

Cheryl Moll

 

XETA Technologies

 

(918) 664-8200

XETA TECHNOLOGIES ANNOUNCES
FISCAL 2004 RESULTS and
FISCAL 2005 TARGETS

Broken Arrow, OK - XETA Technologies (NASDAQ: XETA) announced today the results for its fourth fiscal quarter and year ending October 31, 2004.  The Company reported revenues of $14.8 million for the fourth quarter and $58.8 million for the year.  Earnings were reported at $0.03 per diluted share for the quarter and $0.16 per diluted share for the year.  These results are unaudited and, although no material changes are expected, are subject to change.  The audit is expected to be complete by the end of December.

These results represent a 12 percent increase in year-over-year revenues with a 3 percent increase in earnings.  Compared to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2003, these results represent an 18 percent increase in revenue with a $0.01 cent per share decrease in earnings.

“As we saw the economy begin to lift off bottom this year, we cautiously began the transition from a management model designed to primarily control costs, to a more aggressive model designed to drive increasing revenues,” stated Jack Ingram, CEO.  “As a result, we saw year-over-year revenues increase in every quarter of the year.  Furthermore, we are pleased to report strong increases in both systems and services revenues.”

“In doing so, we saw a year-over-year decrease in margins, some expected, some unexpected,” continued Ingram.  “Overall our margins declined 3.0 percentage points, driven by a decline of 5.1 percentage points in systems sales.”   Company officials said some of the margin pressure was expected and planned for, including expansion of the Company’s product offering with the addition of Nortel products resulting in the forfeit of 2.0 percentage points of rebate on all Avaya systems.  However, other unexpected pressures included a series of reductions in Avaya rebate and incentive programs.

According to Larry Patterson, Executive Director of Operations, “Fiscal 2004 was a year of building toward our longer-term growth objectives.  Our actions were primarily focused on expanding our infrastructure to encompass the new Nortel Networks product portfolio and enhancing our IP Telephony capabilities with Avaya.”


Patterson added that a critical initial objective was to establish our services competencies with the new Nortel products.  We completed this phase by achieving technical accreditation on all of the pertinent products.  At mid-year the Company began the build-up of a Nortel Networks sales force, which by year end had built to a size comparable to the Company’s Avaya sales force, essentially doubling Xeta’s access to the U.S. enterprise communications market.

“The Company’s decision to expand our product portfolio with the Nortel Networks line of products was not without significant cost and effort,” said Patterson.   “We immediately forfeited 2.0 points of margin on our Avaya sales and took on the daunting task of building a national sales and services competency related to these products.  This expansion of our corporate infrastructure required constancy of purpose and careful management of costs.  We have now navigated the difficulties and begin the new year very pleased with our competitive position.”

Company officials also report that Xeta expanded and strengthened their sales management and enhanced the Company’s overall go-to-market strategy with a new, services-centric, ‘Branch Office’ concept.  In addition to the Company’s traditional national accounts sales force, they now have branch operations established in Tulsa and Seattle.  “This action should allow us to better penetrate and more-effectively service the mid-market segment,” commented Patterson.

“From a services perspective, the addition of the Nortel dimension permits us to aggressively expand our recurring revenue base,” said Patterson.   “We can now, without channel conflict, effectively extend one of our most important value propositions beyond our lodging niche.  The results are already beginning, as we secured approximately $2.0 million/year of recurring service revenues during the year.”

Patterson continued, “During the year we grew our Avaya revenues and focused our go-to-market strategy around IP Telephony and the emerging applications of wireless, security, mobility and business continuity.  We remain one of Avaya’s leading national partners and feel good about the market opportunities which exist with this technologically advanced market leader.  We continue to enhance our IP capabilities and work closely with Avaya to effectively address the rapidly evolving world of converged communications.  Clearly, IP technology has moved beyond the infancy stage and into the growth stage.  We remain confident in our direction and continue to implement a carefully-managed growth strategy.”

For fiscal 2005, Xeta has set targets at 10-12 percent growth in revenues to approximately $65 million, stabilization of overall gross profit margins at approximately 25 percent, and a 25 percent growth in earnings to the $0.20 per share range.  To achieve these targets, Ingram said the company must—

 

Begin seeing Nortel systems sales.  “We began making investment toward this end throughout fiscal 2004, especially in the third and fourth quarters,” explained Ingram.  “We believe we will see the return on this investment grow quarter by quarter throughout the year.”

 

 

 

 

Continue growing Avaya Systems Sales.  “Our strategy remains to grow at or above the industry demand rate of growth”, stated Ingram.

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See stabilization of profit margins. “Even though our year-over-year margins declined, we have seen three consecutive quarters of stable margins and anticipate it will continue,” he said.

 

 

 

 

Continue the increases which we have seen in the recurring service revenue streams.  “The maturity of the branch operations as well as increased focus on the new prospects to sell our own services should provide ample opportunity to accomplish this goal,” Ingram added.

“The forecasted increases in systems and services should steadily build throughout the year,” concluded Ingram.   “We are forecasting first quarter earnings similar to what we have seen for the past several quarters of from $0.02 to $0.05 per share.  We expect this to steadily increase throughout the year to the $0.05 to $0.08 per share range for an annual earnings target of $0.20 per share.

XETA Technologies will host a conference call regarding this announcement on Wednesday, December 1, 2004 at 10:00 a.m. CST. The media, analysts and investors are invited to participate by dialing 1-800-230-1092. A replay of the call will be available from 1:30 p.m. CST on December 1, 2004 until 11:59 p.m. December 8, 2004 by dialing 1-800-475-6701, access code 750162.

 

 

4th Quarter Ending Oct 31st

 

Year Ending Oct 31st

 

 

 


 


 

 

 

2004

 

2003

 

2004

 

2003

 

 

 


 


 


 


 

Sales 

Systems

 

7,802

 

 

5,964

 

 

31,341

 

 

27,550

 

 

Services

 

6,532

 

 

5,914

 

 

26,493

 

 

23,339

 

 

Other

 

485

 

 

696

 

 

993

 

 

1,793

 

 

Total

 

14,819

 

 

12,575

 

 

58,827

 

 

52,681

 

Gross Profit Margin

 

 

25

%

 

27

%

 

24

%

 

27

%

Gross Profit

 

 

3,671

 

 

3,402

 

 

14,263

 

 

14,318

 

Operating Expense

 

 

3,216

 

 

2,610

 

 

11,652

 

 

11,211

 

Income from Operations

 

 

455

 

 

792

 

 

2,611

 

 

3,108

 

Interest and Other Income (Expense)

 

 

-18

 

 

-170

 

 

32

 

 

-545

 

Net Income After Tax

 

 

265

 

 

377

 

 

1,608

 

 

1,558

 

Basic Earnings Per Share

 

$

0.03

 

$

0.04

 

$

0.16

 

$

0.16

 

Diluted Earnings Per Share

 

$

0.03

 

$

0.04

 

$

0.16

 

$

0.16

 

Wt. Avg. Common Shares Outstanding

 

 

10,013

 

 

10,003

 

 

10,009

 

 

9,828

 

Wt. Avg. Common Equivalent Shares

 

 

10,085

 

 

10,167

 

 

10,157

 

 

9,999

 

(The information is presented in thousands except percentages and per-share data.)

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Oct 31, 2004

 

Oct 31, 2003

 

 

 

 

 


 


 

Assets

Current

Cash

 

 

141

 

 

291

 

 

 

Receivables (net)

 

 

9,529

 

 

5,795

 

 

 

Inventories (net)

 

 

4,845

 

 

5,615

 

 

 

Other

 

 

1,557

 

 

2,188

 

 

 

Subtotal

 

 

16,072

 

 

13,889

 

 

Non-Current

Receivables (net)

 

 

297

 

 

420

 

 

 

PPE (net)

 

 

10,727

 

 

10,467

 

 

 

Goodwill and Intangibles

 

 

26,414

 

 

25,727

 

 

 

Other

 

 

46

 

 

170

 

 

 

Subtotal

 

 

37,484

 

 

36,784

 

 

Total Assets

 

 

 

53,556

 

 

50,673

 

Liabilities

Current

Notes Payable

 

 

1,210

 

 

1,210

 

 

 

Revolving Line of Credit

 

 

3,850

 

 

719

 

 

 

Accounts Payable

 

 

2,452

 

 

3,929

 

 

 

Unearned Revenue

 

 

1,559

 

 

1,620

 

 

 

Accrued Liabilities

 

 

2,536

 

 

2,206

 

 

 

Subtotal

 

 

11,607

 

 

9,684

 

 

Non-Current

Long Term Debt

 

 

2,820

 

 

4,030

 

 

 

Other

 

 

2,825

 

 

2,348

 

 

 

Subtotal

 

 

5,645

 

 

6,378

 

 

Total Liabilities

 

 

 

17,252

 

 

16,062

 

Equity

 

 

 

 

36,304

 

 

34,611

 

(The information is presented in thousands.)

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About XETA Technologies

XETA Technologies is a leading provider of communications solutions with sales and service locations nationwide, serving national business clients in sales, consulting, engineering, project management, installation and service support.  Through internal growth and corporate acquisitions, XETA is a frontrunner in the emerging, highly technical world of converged communications solutions for voice, data and video applications.   XETA is one of the largest providers of Avaya voice and data systems and has recently added the Nortel Networks product line of voice and data solutions.   XETA is also the largest distributor for Hitachi’s PBX group—the leading provider of communication systems for the lodging industry—and has long been recognized as the leading provider of call accounting solutions to the hospitality industry.

XETA Technologies has recently been recognized by Business 2.0 magazine’s “Fastest-Growing Technology Companies” and has also been recognized by Fortune Small Business magazine’s Top 100 Fastest-Growing Companies, Fortune magazine’s “100 Fastest-Growing Companies,” Forbes magazine’s “Best 200 Small Companies in America” and BusinessWeek’s  “Top 100 Hot Growth Companies.”  For more information about XETA Technologies, visit www.xeta.com

This news release contains forward-looking statements, which are made subject to the provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  These statements include statements concerning XETA's prospects for Avaya and Nortel systems sales and margin stabilization, and revenues and earnings expectations, for fiscal 2005.  These and other forward-looking statements (generally identified by such words as "expects," "plans," "believes," "anticipates" and similar words or expressions) reflect management's current expectations, assumptions, and beliefs based upon information currently available to management. Investors are cautioned that all forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties which are difficult to predict and that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected.  These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, economic conditions in the United States and the telecommunications market specifically, the Company’s ability to successfully exploit the Nortel Networks market, the continuance of various vendor incentive programs that support the Company's sales and marketing efforts, the long term success of the Company’s growth strategies, market acceptance of and demand for the Company’s product and service offerings, competition, inflation, and the availability and retention of sales professionals and trained technicians.  Additional factors which could affect actual results are described in the section entitled "Outlook and Risk Factors" contained in the Company's Form 10-K for its fiscal year ended October 31, 2003, and in each of its quarterly reports on Form 10-Q filed during the 2004 fiscal year.

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