PRINTRONIX FISCAL YEAR RESULTS DOWN $4M+

[Anonymous]

Printronix Announces Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2006 Results
IRVINE, Calif. – June 2006 — Printronix, Inc., the leading manufacturer of integrated enterprise printing solutions for the supply chain, today announced results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended March 31, 2006. The fourth quarter and fiscal year ended March 31, 2006 consisted of 14 and 53 weeks respectively, compared to the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended March 25, 2005, which consisted of 13 and 52 weeks respectively. Fourth quarter revenue was $33.2 million, up from $32.7 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2005. The company incurred a net loss for the quarter of $7.4 million, or $1.19 per diluted share compared with net income of $0.7 million, or $0.10 per diluted share for the same quarter of the prior fiscal year.Revenue for fiscal year 2006 was$127.8 million, down from $131.7 million a year ago. The net loss for fiscal year 2006 was $8.0 million, or $1.28 per diluted share, compared with net income of $1.9 million, or $0.30 per diluted share in fiscal year 2005.The net losses for the fiscal year 2006 were due primarily to 3 factors; an increase in thtax asset valuation allowance of $3.0M resulting from cumulative losses in the United States, G&A expenses due to costs incurred for Sarbanes Oxley compliance for consulting and external audit fees of $2.5M, and a tax charge of $2.1M resulting from repatriation of $32.0M of foreign earnings to the U.S”We remain positive on the outlook for the Company,” said Robert Kleist, President and CEO of Printronix. “During the fourth quarter, we continued to expand our RFID printing solutions, introduced new line matrix printers and continued to strengthen our presence in emerging geographies. Based upon current sales trends, lower SOX compliance costs and lower operating expenses, we expect the Company to return to profitability in the June quarter, the first quarter of fiscal year 2007. With a strong balance sheet, the company is well positioned to participate in expansion of global printing solutions for supply chain and manufacturing applications.”Gross margin was 36.4% for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2006, down from 38.7% in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2005 primarily due to lower volume and increased warranty and inventory costs. For fiscal year 2006, gross margin was 37.7%, down from 39.1% for the prior year, primarily due to lower volume and the changeover to new product lines in both line matrix and thermal printing solutions.Operating expenses in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2006 were $14.7 million, up from $12.0 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2005. Operating expenses for fiscal year 2006 were $51.6 million compared with $48.8 million in fiscal year 2005, due to Sarbanes Oxley compliance expense of $2.5M compared to prior year of $0.5M and expenses related to AJCA cash repatriation of $0.2M and higher audit fees of $0.6M. There was increased spending for marketing due to geographic expansion and new product launches, offset by decreased expenditures in other areas.The company ended the fourth fiscal quarter of 2006 with cash and short-term investments of $42.1 million, down from $44.9 million at the end of the fourth quarter of fiscal 2005, and up from $41.6 million at the end of the third quarter of fiscal year 2006. The decrease in cash and short-term investments from the prior year is primarily due to higher inventories and receivables together with dividends paid to shareholders.

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June 29, 2006 at 11:32 AM