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Contact: Karen L. Dexter
Director, Investor Relations
(650) 367-4111
AMPEX CORPORATION REPORTS
Q3 2007 FINANCIAL RESULTS
REDWOOD CITY, Calif., November 7, 2007 – Ampex Corporation (Nasdaq:AMPX) today reported a net loss of $0.5 million ($0.14 loss per basic and diluted share) on revenues of $9.4 million in the third quarter of 2007 compared to a net income of $1.8 million ($0.48 and $0.47 income per basic and diluted share, respectively) on revenues of $8.6 million in the third quarter of 2006.
Key factors affecting the Company's quarterly financial results are as follows:
- Licensing revenue from running royalties recognized on shipments by our licensees totaled $2.7 million in the quarter ended September 30, 2007 compared to $3.2 million in the quarter ended September 30, 2006.
- The Recorders segment earned operating income of $0.9 million ($0.23 per diluted share) in the third quarter of 2007 compared to $0.4 million ($0.11 per diluted share) in the comparable period in 2006. Total Recorders segment product and service revenues increased to $6.7 million in the third quarter of 2007 from $5.4 million in the third quarter of 2006, primarily due to increased sales of our solid state and disk-based instrumentation recorders to $3.5 million in the third quarter of 2007 compared to $1.8 million in the comparable period in 2006, offset in part by decreased sales of our legacy tape-based products. Backlog of orders totaled $4.0 million at September 30, 2007. Significant orders that contain cancellation provisions or other restrictions are excluded from backlog.
- Operating income for the Company's business segments and unallocated corporate expenses were as follows:
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For the three months ended September 30,
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2007
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2006
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(in millions)
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Licensing segment
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$2.0
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$1.4
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Recorders segment
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0.9
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0.4
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Unallocated corporate
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(2.3)
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(1.8)
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Operating income (loss)
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$0.6
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$ -
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- Interest expense for the three months ended September 30, 2007 was $1.2 million compared to $0.8 million for the three months ended September 30, 2006. Total debt at September 30, 2007 was $51.3 million, up from $33.2 million at September 30, 2006, primarily due to borrowings from Hillside Capital Incorporated ("Hillside") in relation to funding of the Company's defined benefit pension plan.
- Other income and expense, net for the three months ended September 30, 2006 included $2.4 million of incentive fees assigned to us by the general partner of an investment limited partnership upon the sale of an investment. There were no incentive fees received in 2007.
Over the next several months, we intend to identify specific licensing strategies for our major patent/product groups. Additional internal and external resources, as well as a restructuring of the Hillside Notes, will be required to pursue any patent monetization opportunities that we identify.
On September 12, 2007, we entered into a standstill agreement with Hillside that currently is scheduled to expire on November 15, 2007 to enable the parties to restructure the Hillside Notes, clarify how future pension contributions will be funded and remove the notice of technical default that was issued by Hillside in July 2007. The restructuring plan was conditioned upon raising a minimum of $15 million of equity, which we presently believe we will not be able to satisfy. We have informed Hillside that we wish to extend the standstill period and to enter into further negotiations to develop a mutually acceptable plan that provides sufficient resources for us to remain a going concern. Hillside has indicated their willingness to extend the standstill period on terms to be negotiated.
Based on our projected operations, we believe that we will not have sufficient financial resources or be able to generate cash flow to service all of our obligations, including scheduled indebtedness, within the next 12 months and beyond. In order for the Company to remain a going concern we will be required to substantially modify the repayment terms of our Senior Notes as well as the Hillside Notes. Alternatively, we may be required to issue new equity to holders of all or most of our outstanding debt securities, as well as for debt that will be issued in connection with future pension plan contributions. Any such issuance of equity for debt would result in current stockholders' ownership interest being significantly diluted and potentially a substantial decline in the price of our Common Stock.
There can be no assurance that we will be able to successfully restructure our indebtedness. If we are unable to restructure our indebtedness or unable to otherwise service our indebtedness, we might be forced to reorganize under federal bankruptcy laws, which could negatively affect our revenues and the price of our Common Stock.
As previously announced, the Company will host a conference call on Wednesday, November 7, 2007 at 4:30 p.m. eastern time to discuss its third quarter 2007 financial results. To access the call, please call Genesys Conferencing at (866) 235-9589 by 4:20 p.m. and identify the call as Conference ID 1161522 to enter the call. Parties interested in asking questions of management are requested to give the moderator their name and telephone contact information.
A replay of the conference call will be available on the Ampex website www.ampex.com, Investor Relations, "Third Quarter 2007 Earnings Call," for approximately one week shortly after the call has been concluded.
Ampex Corporation, www.ampex.com, headquartered in Redwood City, California, is one of the world's leading innovators and licensors of technologies for the visual information age.
This news release contains predictions, projections and other statements about the future that are intended to be "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of l995 (collectively, "forward-looking statements"). Forward-looking statements relate to various aspects of the Company's operations and strategies, including but not limited to the effects of having recently and in the past experienced losses and the risk that the Company may incur losses in the future; the Company's limited liquidity and significant indebtedness and interest expense, and its ability to restructure its outstanding indebtedness; its sales and royalty revenues declining in future periods, and the risk that the Company will not conclude additional royalty-bearing license agreements or other patent monetization arrangements covering its digital technologies; the risk that the Company's efforts to further commercialize its intellectual property portfolio will not be successful; delays that might be experienced in the receipt of anticipated royalties from license agreements presently in effect; the Company's marketing, product development, acquisition, investment, licensing and other strategies not being successful; possible future issuances of debt or equity securities, and the possible need to raise additional capital or restructure its indebtedness in order to meet the Company's obligations, and the risk that it will not be able to do so; the possible incurrence of significant patent litigation expenses or adverse legal determinations finding the Company's patents not be valid or not to have been infringed; new business development and industry trends; reliance on a former affiliate to make contributions to the Company's pension plans which are substantially underfunded; and most other statements that are not historical in nature. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements are described in cautionary statements included in this news release and/or in the Company's 2006 Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC and its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarters ended March 31, 2007 and June 30, 2007 which have been filed with the SEC and its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2007, which is expected to be filed with the SEC shortly. In assessing forward-looking statements, readers are urged to consider carefully these cautionary statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this news release, and the Company disclaims any obligations to update such statements.
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