AGNT, still at half cash, seems to be turning around a little. Strength mentioned in consumables:
>>FOSTER CITY, Calif., Oct. 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Argonaut Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: AGNT - News) today reported financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2002. ADVERTISEMENT For the third quarter of 2002, net sales were $7.3 million compared to $3.6 million for the third quarter of 2001. These results were somewhat better than the guidance given on the Company's second quarter 2002 conference call. For the third quarter of 2002, before previously announced restructuring charges, the net loss was about $2.8 million, or $(0.14) per share, compared to a net loss of $3.7 million, or $(0.19) per share, for the third quarter of 2001. The net loss for the third quarter of 2002, including restructuring charges of approximately $2.6 million, was $5.3 million, or $(0.27) per share.
"We are not standing still waiting for the capital spending environment to improve at pharmaceutical companies," stated Lissa A. Goldenstein, Argonaut's president and chief executive officer. "In the third quarter of 2002, we made progress on several important strategic initiatives. We added GlaxoSmithKline as a new Technology Access Program partner, introduced a new benchtop process analysis instrument, the Advantage Series(TM) 2050 and improved our intellectual property portfolio with an expansion of our license with Symyx Corporation. Importantly, we remain focused on achieving cash flow break-even as our primary financial goal and have continued to streamline our operations by doubling our revenue base and only increasing operating costs by 4%."
Ms. Goldenstein continued, "We experienced solid demand in the third quarter for chemistry consumables and we believe our consumables provide leading-edge, cost effective solutions for chemical synthesis and purification. Capital equipment expenditures continue to be lackluster and as part of our announced restructuring we will be focusing our sales and marketing efforts on products with the largest market and profitability opportunities."
In August 2002, the Company announced a second cost savings initiative that should result in expense reductions of approximately $3 million on an annualized basis. During the first part of 2002, Argonaut had already instituted cost savings initiatives that had cut expenses by about $5 million on an annualized basis relative to the prior year.
As of September 30, 2002, Argonaut had approximately $40.8 million in cash, cash equivalents, short-term investments and restricted cash.
For the nine months ended September 30, 2002, Argonaut reported net sales of $18.8 million compared to $11.4 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2001. The net loss for the nine months of 2002, including the restructuring charge was $11.6 million, or $(0.59) per share compared to a net loss of $10.9 million, or $(0.57) per share, for the nine months of 2001.
Business Outlook
"We expect net sales for the fourth quarter of 2002 to be between $7.4 million and $7.8 million, bringing estimated net sales for the full year 2002 to about $26.5 million," commented Ms. Goldenstein.
"Gross margin for the fourth quarter of 2002 is expected to be higher than the third quarter, but similar to the gross margin range, excluding special charges, experienced during the nine months of 2002, or between 45% and 47%. We are carefully managing expenses and estimate total operating expenses for the fourth quarter of 2002 to be between $6.0 million and $6.2 million and would anticipate a net loss for the fourth quarter to be less than the third quarter of 2002, and between $2.6 and 2.8 million. We expect a full year 2002 net loss of between $11.7 million and $11.9 million, not including the restructuring charges."
Conference Call Details
Argonaut Technologies will discuss these financial results and its outlook during a conference call scheduled for today, Thursday, October 24, 2002 at 2:00 p.m. Pacific / 5:00 p.m. Eastern. Interested parties may participate in the conference call by dialing 888-277-8128 (international callers dial: 973-582-2729). The call will also be available via live audio broadcast over the Internet at www.argotech.com. For those unable to participate on the live call, a 24-hour replay will be available for seven days after the call at www.argotech.com, or by calling 877-519-4471 (international callers dial: 973-341-3080) and giving the following pass code: 3531697.
About Argonaut Technologies, Inc.
Argonaut Technologies, Inc. is a leading provider of instruments, chemistry consumables, software, and services designed to accelerate and improve chemical development processes. The Company's products are designed to enable chemists to increase productivity, reduce operating costs through automation and process simplification, achieve faster time-to-market, and explore the increasing number of targets and chemical compounds available for drug and chemical development. Argonaut's products are used in more than 1,000 pharmaceutical, chemical, and academic laboratories worldwide. For more information, visit www.argotech.com.
Forward Looking Statements
Statements included in this press release that are not historical in nature may be "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Examples of such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding the outlook for net sales, gross margins, operating expenses and net loss for the 2002 fourth quarter and 2002 fiscal year, the future demand for instruments and consumables, anticipated growth in the market for our products, anticipated revenue from contract R&D programs, and the benefits from cost savings initiatives. Any such forward-looking statements reflect the judgment of our management as of the date of this release, and involve risks and uncertainties, including the risk that increasing revenues and decreasing expenses may not be realized as quickly as anticipated or at all and the risk that the current slow period in our industry continues for longer than we expect or deteriorates further, with a reduction in demand for instruments and consumables, each of which could significantly impact our business and results of operations. These and other risk factors are discussed in Argonaut's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2001 filed on April 1, 2002, in its most recent quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2002 filed on August 13, 2002, and its other reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Argonaut disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements. The Company claims the protection of the Safe Harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
ARGONAUT TECHNOLOGIES, INC. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (In thousands, except per share data) (Unaudited)
Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended September 30, September 30, 2002 2001 2002 2001
Net sales $7,282 $3,583 $18,762 $11,445 Costs and Expenses: Costs of sales 4,021 1,964 10,141 6,128 Costs of sales - special charges 765 -- 765 -- Research and development 1,468 1,530 4,307 5,035 Selling, general and administrative 4,476 4,178 13,190 12,552 Amortization of goodwill and other purchased intangible assets 209 216 524 504 Acquired in-process research and development -- -- -- 270 Restructuring charges 1,802 -- 1,802 -- Total costs and expenses 12,741 7,888 30,729 24,489 Loss from operations (5,459) (4,305) (11,967) (13,044) Other income (expenses): Interest and other income 294 593 977 2,347 Interest and other expense (173) (10) (422) (211) Net loss before provision for income taxes (5,338) (3,722) (11,412) (10,908) Provision for income taxes -- -- (200) -- Net loss $(5,338) $(3,722) $(11,612) $(10,908) Net loss per common share, basic and diluted $(0.27) $(0.19) $(0.59) $(0.57) Weighted-average shares used in computing net loss per common share, basic and diluted 19,973 19,199 19,839 18,975
ARGONAUT TECHNOLOGIES, INC. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (In thousands) Sept. 30, Dec. 31, 2002 2001 (Unaudited) (A) ASSETS Current assets: Cash and cash equivalents $10,622 $17,996 Short-term investments 18,198 39,636 Accounts receivable, net 5,254 4,187 Inventories 6,783 4,096 Prepaid expenses & other current assets 987 784 Notes receivable 177 -- Total current assets 42,021 66,699
Restricted cash 11,949 -- Property and equipment, net 5,255 3,233 Goodwill 9,387 763 Other intangible assets, net 6,649 1,450 Other assets 139 26 $75,400 $72,171
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY Current liabilities: Accounts payable $1,620 $1,681 Accrued compensation 848 1,421 Other accrued liabilities 2,629 1,679 Deferred revenue 3,012 3,439 Current portion of notes payable and capital lease obligations 274 187 Total current liabilities 8,383 8,407
Long term debt 12,103 --
Stockholders' equity 54,914 63,764 $75,400 $72,171
(A) The condensed consolidated balance sheet at December 31, 2001 has been derived from the audited consolidated financial statements at that date but does not include all of the information and footnotes required by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States for complete financial statements.<<
Cheers, Tuck |