LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 25, 2000--Taitron Components Inc. (Nasdaq:TAIT - news) today announced financial results for its third quarter ended Sept. 30, 2000, with net income almost doubling over a year ago.
Net sales for the third quarter increased 12 percent to $8.6 million from $7.7 million last year. Net income for the same period climbed to $523,000, or 9 cents per diluted share, compared with $269,000, or 4 cents per diluted share, last year.
Net sales for the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2000, increased 17 percent to $25.8 million from $22 million a year ago. Net income for the nine-month period rose 89 percent to $1,509,000, or 25 cents per diluted share, compared with $797,000, or 13 cents per diluted share, during the same period in 1999.
Stewart Wang, Taitron's chief executive officer, said: ``We are proud of our top- and bottom-line growth during the first nine months of this year. Since the signing of our distributor agreement with Samsung Electro-Mechanics earlier this year, our passive-components sales has grown substantially -- both on a sequential and year-to-year basis.
``Moving forward, we expect our passive-components business will continue to expand and eventually become a significant portion of the company's overall sales.''
Wang noted that Taitron continues to focus on targeting new markets and leveraging its $30 million on-hand inventory.
Most recently, Wang stated that Taitron had hired new sales personnel in the Chicago area to staff a newly planned office in the same area. With the Chicago office, Taitron will have opened six new sales offices during the last 18 months. He indicated that overall shortages of discrete semiconductors and passive components have also helped create higher sales with healthier margins.
He added that the company expects to complete interior improvements to its new 55,000-square-foot warehouse and headquarters, located in Valencia, Calif., in the fourth quarter of year 2000. Management expects the new $3.3 million facility to fully support the company's anticipated growth.
Wang noted that results for the quarter and nine months were impacted by an increase in selling, general and administrative expenses related to the expansion of the company's direct sales force, operating costs of the newly opened offices and additional overhead from the company's subsidiary in Mexico.
He indicated, however, that selling, general and administrative expenses as a percentage of net sales decreased by 0.6 percent to 19.5 percent, as compared with the same nine-month period last year.
He added that the company completed the period with a strong balance sheet, reporting $19.5 million in working capital, a ratio of current assets to current liabilities of 2.1-to-1 and more than $26.6 million in total shareholders' equity, as of Sept. 30, 2000.
He also noted that under a previously announced stock-repurchase program, the company had purchased approximately 1.2 million Class A common shares through Sept. 30, 2000, for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $3.5 million. Book value per share as of Sept. 30, 2000, was $4.60 per share. In addition, during the third quarter the board of directors approved an additional stock repurchase of up to $1 million.
Taitron, based in Santa Clarita, Calif., is the ``Discrete Components Superstore.'' The company distributes a wide variety of transistors, diodes and other discrete semiconductors, optoelectronic devices and passive components utilized by other electronic distributors, original equipment manufacturers and contract electronic manufacturers.
Safe-harbor statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995: Any statements set forth above that are not historical facts are forward-looking
statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results
to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Potential
risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to such factors as general
economic conditions, fluctuations in product demand, the company's ability to
maintain customer and vendor relationships, technological advancements, impact
of competitive products and pricing, risks of foreign operations, and other
information detailed from time to time in the company's filings with the United
States Securities and Exchange Commission.
TAITRON COMPONENTS INC.
Statements of Earnings
(Unaudited)
(Dollars in thousands, except per-share amounts)
Three months ended Nine months ended
Sept. 30, Sept. 30,
2000 1999 2000 1999
Net sales $8,663 $7,750 $25,837 $22,051
Cost of goods sold 5,915 5,605 17,699 15,722
Gross profit 2,748 2,145 8,138 6,329
Selling, general and
administrative expenses 1,711 1,506 5,047 4,449
Operating earnings 1,037 639 3,091 1,880
Interest expense, net 243 220 659 651
Other expense (income), net (26) (39) (58) (155)
Earnings before income taxes 820 458 2,490 1,384
Income tax expense 297 189 981 587
Net earnings $ 523 $ 269 $ 1,509 $ 797
Basic earnings per share $ 0.09 $ 0.04 $ 0.26 $ 0.13
Diluted earnings per share $ 0.09 $ 0.04 $ 0.25 $ 0.13
Basic weighted average
shares outstanding 5,781,310 6,000,000 5,809,372 6,024,000
Diluted weighted average
shares outstanding 6,069,675 6,085,000 6,088,807 6,078,000