Hoofddorp, 11 februari 2003 - Aspect Communications Corporation (Nasdaq: ASPT), de toonaangevende leverancier op het gebied van business communications solutions, heeft onlangs de cijfers over het vierde kwartaal bekend gemaakt alsmede de resultaten over het jaar 2002.
Hoofdpunten vierde kwartaal:
- Netto winst in het vierde kwartaal was $6.7 miljoen vergeleken met een netto verlies van $60 miljoen ten opzichte van het derde kwartaal en een netto verlies van $35.1 miljoen vergeleken met dezelfde periode vorig jaar
- Omzet in het vierde kwartaal ten opzichte van het derde kwartaal 2002 laat een lichte stijging zien; $96.9 miljoen (Q04) ten opzichte van $96.5 miljoen (Q03)
- Licentie omzet in vierde kwartaal is $20.6 miljoen ten opzichte van $21.5 miljoen in het derde kwartaal
- Service omzet in vierde kwartaal is ook gestegen ten opzichte van het derde kwartaal; $62.2 miljoen (2002 Q4) ten opzichte van $58.9 miljoen (2002 Q3)
Voor het overige verwijzen wij naar het Engelstalige persbericht.
Aspect Communications Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2002 Financial Results
Company Reports Fourth Quarter GAAP EPS of $0.13 and Operating Margins of 9%
SAN JOSE, Calif., January 23, 2003—Aspect Communications Corporation (Nasdaq: ASPT), the leading provider of enterprise customer contact solutions, today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and full fiscal year ended December 31, 2002.
FOURTH QUARTER FINANCIAL RESULTS:
Revenues for the fourth quarter of 2002 totaled $96.9 million compared to $96.5 million for the third quarter of 2002 and $111.8 million for the same period last year. License revenues in the fourth quarter of 2002 were $20.6 million compared to $21.5 million for the third quarter and $24.6 million for the same period last year. Services revenues in the fourth quarter were $62.2 million compared to $58.9 million for the third quarter and $70.6 million for the same period last year. Other revenues totaled $14.2 million in the fourth quarter compared to $16.0 million for the third quarter and $16.6 million for the same period last year.
Net income for the fourth quarter of 2002 was $6.7 million or a profit of $0.13 per share on a basic and fully diluted basis. These results compare with a net loss of $60.0 million or a loss of $1.14 per share for the third quarter of 2002 and a net loss of $35.1 million or a loss of $0.68 per share for the same period last year.
“I am exceptionally pleased with the progress we continued to make this quarter,” said Beatriz Infante, Aspect’s Chairman, President, and CEO. “We have continued to execute to plan and have delivered on our commitment to return the company to profitability, generate cash from operations, and strengthen our balance sheet. This quarter we delivered operating profit margins of 9% and achieved the fourth straight quarter of positive cash flow from operations.” Infante continued, “In addition, earlier this week we announced that Aspect shareholders voted to approve the proposed $50 million preferred stock financing agreement with Vista Equity Fund II, L.P. This transaction was closed immediately following the shareholder vote.”
For the fourth quarter of 2002, gross margin was 55.0%. This compares to 50.8% for the third quarter of 2002, excluding the write-off of intangible assets in that quarter, and 46.2% gross margin for the fourth quarter of 2001. Operating expenses in each of the respective quarters, excluding restructuring charges and the write-off of intangible assets were $44.7 million for the fourth quarter, $48.8 million in the third quarter of this year, and $67.7 million for the same period last year.
Cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments totaled $146.1 million as of December 31, 2002, compared to $145.2 million as of September 30, 2002 and $135.1 million as of December 31, 2001. During the quarter, the company generated $4.0 million in cash from operations. Accounts receivable at quarter-end totaled $51.1 million and days sales outstanding were 45 days compared to 54 days at September 30, 2002. Net inventories at December 31, 2002 totaled $6.8 million, an increase of $2.1 million from the prior quarter.
FISCAL YEAR 2002 FINANCIAL RESULTS:
Revenues for the full fiscal year ended December 31, 2002 totaled $396.1 million compared to $445.8 million for fiscal year 2001. License revenues in 2002 were $82.8 million compared to $106.5 million in fiscal year 2001. Services revenues in 2002 totaled $247.4 million compared to $261.9 million in fiscal year 2001. Other revenues totaled $65.8 million in 2002 compared to $77.3 million for fiscal year 2001.
Net loss for the full fiscal year 2002 was $108.3 million or a loss of $2.06 per share. This compares with a net loss of $156.3 million or a loss of $3.03 per share for the 2001 fiscal year.
For 2002, gross margin was 39.1%, compared to 46.5%, for 2001. Excluding non-recurring charges for intangible write-offs of $37.6 million, the company would have achieved a gross margin of 48.6% for 2002.
Operating expenses totaled $230.0 million in 2002, compared to $364.5 million in 2001. Excluding non-recurring charges, operating expenses for 2002 and 2001 were $206.5 million and $320.5 million, respectively.
FOURTH QUARTER OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS:
During the quarter, the company added several new customers to its platinum customer base, including: Banque Cantonale De Fribourg, Reuters News Service, Thurgauer Kantonalbank and City of Fort Worth Texas.
Aspect’s installed base of customers continued to be an important source for new product revenues. The company received significant revenue from these existing Aspect customers: American Express, British Airways, Comcast Cablevision, Countrywide, Cox Communications, DaimlerChrysler, Deutsche Telekom, Fidelity, HSBC, Health Net, Hutchison 3G, IBM, Intersections, Premera BCBS, RCN Corporation, Royal Bank of Scotland, Shurgard, T-Com, TeleTech and Verizon Wireless.
In addition, the company strengthened its consulting alliance partnerships by signing an agreement with Deloitte Consulting during the quarter.
The company’s market-leading product, Aspect IP Contact Suite, won Internet Telephony Magazine’s Product-of-the-Year Award for vision, leadership and innovation.
BUSINESS OUTLOOK:
The following statements are forward-looking, and actual results may differ materially:
a.. The company’s planning assumption is that revenue for the first quarter will decrease modestly from the fourth quarter, consistent with the company’s historical Q1 seasonality.
b.. The company is planning for gross margins to remain above 53% for the first quarter. Variability in gross margin percentages is dependent upon, among other factors, the mix and volume of revenues.
c.. Operating expenses for first quarter are expected to be between $42 million and $44 million.
d.. The issuance of the preferred stock, in the first quarter of 2003, will result in certain non-cash charges to the Company’s future financial results. Approximately $2 million per quarter will be a non-cash charge, after net income, to calculate net income to common shareholders. These non-cash charges relate to dividends on the preferred stock, accretion of the liquidation preference and amortization of the discount on these shares.
e.. Inclusive of the above non-cash charges resulting from issuance of the preferred shares, the Company expects to remain profitable in the first quarter of 2003.
The company will host a conference call and web-cast today at 1:45 pm Pacific Time to discuss fourth quarter 2002 results. A replay of the conference call will be available from January 23, 2003 at 5:00 pm Pacific Time through January 30, 2003 at 8:59 pm Pacific Time by calling 800-839-4013 or 402-220-2982. The web-cast and replay of the conference call may be accessed from the company’s home page at www.aspect.com.
Notes on financial presentation: Actual financial results are prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. Pro forma financial results exclude the write-off of intangible assets and restructuring charges.
P&L GAAP
Balance Sheet
Cash Flow
Pro Forma - December
Pro Forma - September
About Aspect Communications
Aspect Communications Corporation is the leading provider of business communications solutions that help companies improve customer satisfaction, reduce operating costs, gather market intelligence and increase revenue. Aspect is a trusted mission-critical partner with over two-thirds of the Fortune 50, daily managing more than 3 million customer sales and service professionals worldwide. Aspect is the only company that provides the mission-critical software platform, development environment and applications that seamlessly integrate voice-over-IP, traditional telephony, e-mail, voicemail, Web, fax and wireless business communications, while guaranteeing investment protection in a company’s front-office, back-office, Internet and telephony infrastructures. Aspect’s leadership in business communications solutions is based on more than 17 years of experience and over 8,000 implementations deployed worldwide. The company is headquartered in San Jose, Calif., with offices around the world and an extensive global network of systems integrators, independent software vendors and distribution partners. For more information, call (877) 621-3692.
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Aspect, the Aspect logo and the phrases and marks relating to other Aspect products and services discussed in this press release constitute one or both of the following: (1) registered trademarks and/or service marks of Aspect Communications Corporation in the United States and/or other countries or (2) intellectual property subject to protection under common law principles. All other names and marks mentioned in this document are properties of their respective owners.
The statements contained in the Business Outlook Section, including but not limited to, statements relating to the future profitability of the company, and expected first quarter revenues, gross margins, operating expenses and charges associated with the Vista preferred stock are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, Section 21E of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and are made under its safe-harbor provisions. Such forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Specific factors that may cause actual revenue and earnings per share results to differ include: the significant percentage of Aspect's quarterly sales consummated in the last few days of the quarter and the potential for delays in closing of sales or product deliveries make financial predictions especially difficult and raise a substantial risk of variance in actual results; changes in the overall mix and volume of product line revenues can have a significant impact on gross margin and profitability; fluctuations in our North American and International business levels and/or economic conditions, the hiring and retention of key employees, insufficient, excess or obsolete inventory and variations in valuation, and foreign exchange rate fluctuations can all cause revenues and income to fall significantly short of anticipated levels. The economic, political and other uncertainties caused in the United States and throughout other regions of the world add to these challenges. Additional risks that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected are discussed in Aspect's Form 10-K/A for the year ended December 31, 2001, its Form 10-Q/As for the quarters ended March 31, 2002 and June 30, 2002, and its Form 10-Q for the quarters ended September 30, 2002, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which reflect management's analysis only as of the date hereof. Aspect undertakes no obligation to publicly release the results of any revision to these forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
Carrie Kovac
Investor Relations
Aspect Communications
(408) 325-2437
carrie.kovac@aspect.com