Palm Quarterly Revenues Up 36%

Posted By: Ed Wednesday, December 19, 2001 4:44:08 PM

Palm Inc. has just released the financial results for its most recent quarter. It reported revenues of $290.6 million, up 36% from the $214.3 million reported in the preceding fiscal quarter. This is about 10% higher than analysts had predicted. The company had a pro forma net loss of $36.6 million, or 6 cents per share. Wall Street's prediction was for a loss of 7 cents.

Despite the increase in revenue compared to last quarter, Palm's revenue is still down 44% from the $522.2 million reported for the same period last year. Palm also earned 5 cents a share during the same quarter last year.

Still, Palm's revenues did increase and the company lost only 6 cents a share, compared to the 7 cents it lost last quarter.

While Palm still has $241 million in cash, it spent $80 million during this quarter.

Looking to the future, Palm's CFO Judy Bruner predicted that this quarter, which ends in February, the company will have revenue of $250 million to $260 million. In the following quarter, Palm expects to return to profitability on revenues of $290 million to $300 million.

Palm shares rose 13 cents in after-hours trading after this earnings report was released.

Last month, Palm announced a round of layoffs. When all is said and done, Palm gave pink slips to more than 250 employees and contractors but it was hiring at the same time. The company hired 45 people as part of its acquisition of Be Inc.

Also during this quarter, Carl Yankowski resigned as CEO.

Palm and the other handheld companies have been hit hard by the recession in the United States, which has greatly slowed demand for their products. After a miserable spring marked by the flawed roll-out of the m500 series, Palm has been working to return itself to profitability.

"This quarter's significant increase in revenue and improved results over last quarter reflect that we have gained traction in the marketplace and restored operational rigor," said Eric Benhamou, Palm's chairman and chief executive officer. "We have a tightly focused strategy; we are growing again; and we believe we can execute our plans on time and within budget."

Mr. Benhamou, after acknowledging that the company was too slow introducing new technologies over the lest year, promised that 2002 would be see "a steady stream of innovations".

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But.................

I.M. Anonymous @ 12/19/2001 4:57:41 PM #
Sales were down 44% Ouch!

RE: But.................
I.M. Anonymous @ 12/19/2001 5:02:51 PM #
..just making something negative positive sounding.

RE: But.................
I.M. Anonymous @ 12/19/2001 5:11:09 PM #
a loss is a loosers trademark

RE: But.................
I.M. Anonymous @ 12/19/2001 5:14:50 PM #
No worries, you can only sell handhelds to everyone that would need one..when everyone has one you need to add features that attract new buyers and palm has not done this in 5 years- and don't says memory cards and new shells attract new buyers.

When OS 5 comes out hopefully things will surge again.

God knows I'm not buying a PocketPC anytime soon. Id rather carry a spiral notepad and a ballpoint pen.

RE: But.................
Ed @ 12/19/2001 5:20:03 PM #
> Sales were down 44% Ouch!

Revenues were down 44% as compared to the same quarter last year, yes. But they are up 36% as compared to last quarter. Don't forget, we live in a very different world from last year. At that time, the longest economic boom in U.S. history was still going on. Now we are in a recession. You can't blame Palm for that.

---
News Editor

RE: But.................
I.M. Anonymous @ 12/19/2001 5:33:22 PM #
PALM is up ~30c in after hours trading. Obviously lots of people are happy (me included!) with the statement and the current con call with Judy, Eric et al...

RE: But.................
kevdo @ 12/19/2001 6:01:56 PM #
>don't says memory cards and new shells attract new buyers.

Well, it did for me! I could have purchased a Palm IIIc or a Prism but chose to wait for the m505 because, well, of its shell!

Tell you what. If they made a color model within the m100 shell I would strongly consider getting one. (esp. if it had 16 mb of memory, rechargable batteries, and a low enough weight).

RE: But.................
I.M. Anonymous @ 12/19/2001 6:10:23 PM #
A color m100 device would be very cool. Even if it had only 8MB, but the rest of the above I'd get it!

RE: But.................
I.M. Anonymous @ 12/19/2001 6:11:39 PM #
Revenues are down also, because of the price slashes. It would be interesting to know how many units have been sold. I´m so sick reading complains... Nothing constructive from these a+++oles.

Go on believing that your PalmPilot or Palm III is just the same as a m505 or CLIE or Prism, but please stop bashing other people.

I´m sure these a+++oles will say that OS 5 has nothing new compared to OS 4 and that PPC 2003 will win the war :-(

You should go to a porn site and leave this forum for those who are interested in increasing knowledge on handhelds, accesories and software...

RE: But.................
I.M. Anonymous @ 12/19/2001 6:28:56 PM #
From the con call - 1.51 million devices shipped in last quarter. $274.1M revenue from products and accessories, $11M from Palm.net, $5.5M from OS licenses (NOT INCLUDING PALM BADGED GEAR!)

RE: But.................
bcombee @ 12/19/2001 7:29:00 PM #
Quick math puts their average revenue per unit around $180. That would indicate that the m100/m125s are selling well, but the m505 is their big money maker.

RE: But.................
I.M. Anonymous @ 12/19/2001 10:31:49 PM #
Spot on Ben - we sold *alot* more m10x devices than expected. They are EOL but at a very good price, and in the current economic climate many people are opting for them. The average sell price will obviously increase moving forward.

RE: But.................
I.M. Anonymous @ 12/19/2001 10:59:12 PM #
like I've always said, to most people-even most computer users even a m100 is super hi tech compared to what they are using now which is lots of paper stuffed in their pockets and reliance on memory to recall important facts and figures
AriB

RE: But.................
TROLL @ 12/21/2001 6:32:20 PM #
> From the con call - 1.51 million devices shipped in > last quarter. $274.1M revenue from products and
> accessories, $11M from Palm.net, $5.5M from OS
> licenses (NOT INCLUDING PALM BADGED GEAR!)

OK. Now how much did Handspring and Sony sales come to in that quarter? As I've said before, had Palm just kept the OS to themselves, they would STILLl be in great shape despite what has happened in the past year.


****************************************
The trolls always have the last laugh...

YIPEEE!!! We ONLY lost $36.6 million!!!!!!

I.M. Anonymous @ 12/19/2001 6:26:11 PM #
Better watch out for those "pro forma" numbers though!!!! (See ENRON)

RE: YIPEEE!!! We ONLY lost $36.6 million!!!!!!
I.M. Anonymous @ 12/19/2001 6:31:48 PM #
Yeah, its as funny as Pocket PC's "Yippeee!!! We sold almost 1/10 as many handhelds as Palm did!!"

RE: YIPEEE!!! We ONLY lost $36.6 million!!!!!!
I.M. Anonymous @ 12/19/2001 6:34:12 PM #
Didn't a "Mystery Investor" not too long ago invest $50 Million in Palm? Well, I guess it's down to about $13 Million now! (Probably less by the time you read this.)

My question is, how much longer can Palm keep burning money and stay in business???

RE: YIPEEE!!! We ONLY lost $36.6 million!!!!!!
I.M. Anonymous @ 12/19/2001 6:43:32 PM #
But the investor is prolly already in front given the share jump after the announcement.

And FWIW Palm has only lost money in the last couple of quarters. Not like Handspring who are still burning since day 1 of their operation... and many, many other tech stocks. Also 36M is a small percentage of revenue for Q2, so as it turns around even more over the next 2 Q's will see Palm back in the black. I've got some money on that, and very happy with the investment (actually I'm already in front!)

RE: YIPEEE!!! We ONLY lost $36.6 million!!!!!!
I.M. Anonymous @ 12/20/2001 9:49:54 AM #
Lets see if I can get my math right:

Loss of 6 cents per share = 36 million
Wall Street predicted a loss of 7 cents a share = 43 million

They did 7 million better than anticipated. That isn't too bad considering the economy.

RE: YIPEEE!!! We ONLY lost $36.6 million!!!!!!
I.M. Anonymous @ 12/20/2001 4:12:34 PM #
If I am a student and I tell Mom and Dad that I will be getting all F's on my report card but I come home with all D's, I guess relatively speaking, they will be happy.

RE: YIPEEE!!! We ONLY lost $36.6 million!!!!!!
I.M. Anonymous @ 12/20/2001 4:39:10 PM #
Aren't you the same troll who said Palm would be out of cash and out of business by the end of this year? Does the fact that you are always wrong ever bother you?

RE: YIPEEE!!! We ONLY lost $36.6 million!!!!!!
I.M. Anonymous @ 12/20/2001 5:30:13 PM #
Mark my words, the "Trolls" will have the last laugh on this one!

RE: YIPEEE!!! We ONLY lost $36.6 million!!!!!!
I.M. Anonymous @ 12/20/2001 6:54:13 PM #
If only they were brave enough to state who they are - so that if they are proven right (yeah, right!) we can send them congratulations cards...

Go on trolls... "out" yourselves! I dare ya!

RE: YIPEEE!!! We ONLY lost $36.6 million!!!!!!
TROLL @ 12/21/2001 1:36:02 PM #
While I am not the poster above, I agree that Palm is definitely spiralling down the drain. If you see any way they will be in better shape in two months, please enlighten us all.

Licensing the OS to Handspring and Sony was a fatal mistake.

The trolls always have the last laugh...

RE: YIPEEE!!! We ONLY lost $36.6 million!!!!!!
I.M. Anonymous @ 12/23/2001 7:21:28 PM #
there is a troll. look, it even says it in his name! ***, get a life.

Profitable by June

Ed @ 12/20/2001 10:52:37 AM #
During the conference call after these financial results were announced, Palm's CFO Judy Bruner predicted Palm would be profitable again by June of 2002. I added this to the article later but I wanted to make sure an announcement of this importance got noticed.

This appears to have been music to Wall Street's ears. Palm's share price is up over 10% today.

---
News Editor

RE: (Palm won't be) Profitable by June
TROLL @ 12/21/2001 2:01:10 PM #
I have to disagree with them on this prediction, Ed. Sales are down overall and are being quickly eroded by Sony's rapid-fire release of higher tech models. Palm has not got anything in the pipeline that will be able to get consumers excited and turn their sales around. (Those who think the upcoming wireless Palms will be popular are in for a nasty surprise.)

Palm makes around 95% of its income from hardware sales, so every percent in market share they lose to Handspring and Sony hurts the bottom line. The only way Palm could become profitable would be if they suddenly no longer had any competition. I'm willing to bet you $10 (payable to my favorite charity) that Palm will NOT be profitable in six months. In fact, I expect the company to be sold sometime next year. If you're willing to take the bet and lose, just donate the $10 to your favorite charity. (No, not Palm...)

- Trolly

****************************************
The trolls always have the last laugh...

RE: Profitable by June
I.M. Anonymous @ 12/24/2001 1:06:46 AM #
When PPC is canned, you won't have MS paying you anymore, so how do you propose to fund your $10 contribution to charity?

RE: Profitable by June
Ed @ 12/24/2001 9:16:30 AM #
> Sales are down overall and are being quickly eroded by Sony's rapid-fire
> release of higher tech models.

During the conference call, Palm said the main factor contributing to their revenue growth was unexpectedly high sales of the m100 and Vx, low-tech models. During a recent week, Palm saw a 166% increase in sales, primarily due to heavy sales of the Vx. For comparison sake, during that same week Sony sales increased 61%. That was the first week the T415 was available.

With this evidence, we have to consider the possibility that with the current Recession, low-end, low-cost handhelds are going to be far more in demand than high-end, high-cost ones. While this has long been true, the weak economy seems to be adding to it.

What this will do to the handheld market is anyone's guess. But it is too early to say that Sony's ability to release three high-end handhelds in a year, as opposed to Palm's two, automatically gives it a winning edge.

---
News Editor

RE: Profitable by June
I.M. Anonymous @ 12/24/2001 11:46:31 AM #
But what are the MARGINS on the low-end models?

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