MALMO, Sweden, Oct. 25, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- Interim Report for AudioDev AB (publ.): Figures within parenthesis refer to the period January-September 2001
- Net sales for January-September amounted to SEK 163.6 (156.0) million.
- Operating profit for January-September amounted to SEK 26.9 (34.9) million.
- During September, AudioDev began establishing a new sales company for China and Taiwan, based in Hong Kong. The new company will be called AudioDev Far East.
-AudioDev signed its first major service agreement during the period. The agreement concerns the analysers for Microsoft's Xbox gaming platform.
July- July- Change July- July- Change
Sept Sept % Sept Sept %
2002 2001 2002 2001
Net sales, 56.9 63.1 -10 163.6 156.0 5
SEK millions
Operating 10.0 16.5 -39 26.9 34.9 -23
income, SEK
millions
- as % of net 17.6 26.1 - 16.4 22.4 -
sales
Income for 8.8 12.4 -29 21.0 23.7 -11
period, SEK
millions
- as % of net 15.5 19.7 - 12.8 15.2 -
sales
Volume of 18.4 59.5 -69 18.4 59.5 -69
orders, SEK
millions
Earnings per 0.53 0.77 -31 1.28 1.47 -13
share, SEK
The AudioDev Group
AudioDev is an internationally-leading supplier of testing equipment for optical media such as CDs and DVDs. Testing equipment is part of the production equipment used by actors in the optical media market. The actors in this market are the content suppliers who use CDs and DVDs to distribute their products, and the manufacturers of optical media and players for these media types.
Since its start in 1987, AudioDev has developed the de facto standards for how optical media are tested. Its headquarters are in Malmo, Sweden, and subsidiaries are found in the USA and Asia. In addition, AudioDev has built a network of agents in every land and region of significant importance. None of the Company's competitors has the same global presence. Our customers include Technicolor, Ritek Global Media, Microsoft, EMI, Samsung, Warner, Sonopress, Pioneer, Cinram, Panasonic, MBI, DAI Nippon Printing, and CMC. With a unique product range in key growth areas, AudioDev holds the strongest position in its segment of a rapidly expanding market. The Market for Production Equipment The market for production equipment and, consequently, test equipment is driven by the fact that new optical formats are introduced at an increasingly rapid rate at the same time that the overall demand for optical media increases. Each new format increases the level of complexity, a fact that also applies to the development of existing formats. New, more complex formats entail that the demand for advanced testing is growing.
Irregular Growth
Demand for test equipment is, as described above, dependent upon the demand for optical media, but to a certain extent follows a different trend. Investment in production equipment and therefore also test equipment takes place in stages. The market for media is growing successively, but manufacturers have a tendency to over invest periodically, which regularly leads to excess capacity and stagnation for all production equipment suppliers. Then follows a new period of major investments until the point when growth for a specific media slackens and a mature market phase is entered. This investment pattern results in irregular growth in demand for production equipment and, in turn, test equipment too.
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