Business News

Presstek Announces Fourth Quarter 2009 Financial Results

Monday 15. March 2010 - Positive Adjusted EBITDA of $1.1 Million; Improved Year-on-Year Operating Income (Loss); Reduction of Debt Net of Cash of $4.2 Million During the Quarter; Sequential Quarterly Revenue Growth; Continued Positive Adjusted EBITDA Expected for Q1 2010

Presstek, Inc. (NASDAQ: PRST), a leading supplier of digital offset printing solutions to the printing and communications industries, today reported financial and operating results for the fourth quarter ended January 2, 2010. The Company reported total revenue of $33.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2009, compared with $42.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2008, a decline of $8.8 million, or approximately 21 percent. However, sequential quarterly revenue increased by 1.4 percent compared to $33.0 million of revenue in the third quarter of 2009.
The Company had an operating loss of $0.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2009, an improvement from a loss of $0.9 million in the 2008 fourth quarter and a loss of $6.2 million in the third quarter of 2009. In the quarter, the Company had adjusted EBITDA of $1.1 million compared to the fourth quarter 2008 adjusted EBITDA of $3.0 million, which included an unusually large foreign currency gain in other income. In the third quarter of 2009 the Company had negative adjusted EBITDA of $1.1 million. During the fourth quarter of 2009, the Company incurred a loss from continuing operations of $1.5 million, or $0.04 per share, compared to income from continuing operations of $0.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2008, or $0.02 per share, and a loss from continuing operations of $6.6 million in the third quarter of 2009, or $0.18 per share. (See “Information Regarding Non-GAAP Measures”)
“Today we have reported our fourth quarter 2009 results with revenue of $33.5 million, positive adjusted EBITDA of $1.1 million and a reduction in debt net of cash of $4.2 million,” said Presstek Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Jeff Jacobson. “These results represent our first sequential quarterly increase in revenue since the second quarter of 2008; a return to positive adjusted EBITDA after two negative quarters; and a strengthening of our overall financial position as we were able to significantly reduce our debt net of cash in the quarter. These positive financial results combined with the recent sale of Lasertel, the closing on our new credit facility, the completion of the SEC review and the successful result achieved with the International Trade Commission in the VIM patent litigation give us a great deal of momentum as we move forward.”
Fourth Quarter 2009 Financial Results
Total revenue in the fourth quarter of 2009 was $33.5 million, compared with $42.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2008.
— Equipment revenue declined 40 percent to $5.8 million in the fourth
quarter of 2009, compared with $9.8 million for the same period last
year. Throughout 2009, equipment sales have been negatively impacted by
the global economic recession that has caused credit markets to tighten
and customers to delay major capital investment decisions. However, the
fourth quarter equipment revenue represents a sequential quarterly
revenue increase of $2.2 million, or 60 percent, and was the highest
equipment revenue quarter of the year.

— Consumables revenue totaled $20.6 million in the fourth quarter of
2009, compared with $24.2 million for the same period last year. The
decline in consumables revenue was primarily related to lower industry
print volume, as well as lower sales in the Company’s “traditional”
portfolio of consumables products. Sequential quarterly revenue for
consumables decreased $1.6 million, or 7 percent in the fourth quarter
primarily due to a decline in “traditional” consumables in the quarter.

— Service revenue declined approximately 15 percent to $7.1 million in
the fourth quarter of 2009 compared to 2008 primarily due to a decrease
in the level of traditional equipment service and lower installation
volume. Sequential quarterly revenue was essentially flat.
Gross margin for the fourth quarter was 33.9% compared to 37.9% in the fourth quarter of 2008. This reduction was driven by unfavorable shifts in foreign currency exchange rates from the prior year and reduced productivity in equipment and digital plate manufacturing caused by lower production levels. These reductions were partially offset by a favorable mix of products and cost reductions across the manufacturing and service areas as part of the $10 million cost reduction program announced in August 2009.
Fourth quarter operating expenses of $12.0 million declined $4.9 million, or 29 percent, from the fourth quarter of 2008. This decrease is primarily related to significant reductions in legal and professional fees, bad debt charges and headcount related costs resulting primarily from the cost reduction program implemented in August 2009; and the timing of trade show expenses. A restructuring charge of $0.5 million related to the cost reduction program was recorded in the fourth quarter of 2009.
“The $12.0 million operating expense level in the fourth quarter of 2009 represents a 42 percent decrease from 2007 levels when operating expenses averaged in excess of $20 million per quarter,” said Presstek Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Jeff Cook. “This decline has been due, in part, to operating expense reductions achieved in connection with the approximately $40 million of cost reduction and profit improvement actions that have been taken across the business in the past two years.”
Interest and other income/expense was an expense of $0.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2009 compared to income of $1.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2008. This change was primarily attributed to a $1.7 million unfavorable swing in foreign currency impacts due to an unusually large foreign currency gain in the fourth quarter of 2008 and an increase in interest expense of $0.3 million as a result of higher interest rates and average debt outstanding during the quarter.
Results from continuing operations exclude the results from the Company’s Lasertel subsidiary which were recorded as discontinued operations. Lasertel’s results improved during the fourth quarter of 2009 with income from operations, excluding $0.7 million of legal fees related to the sale of Lasertel, of $0.9 million compared with a loss from operations of $1.1 million in the same period last year. On March 5, 2010, the Company completed the sale of Lasertel for approximately $10 million, comprised of $8 million of cash and $2 million of laser diode inventory for Presstek’s future product requirements.
The fourth quarter debt net of cash totaled $12.1 million, which is essentially flat from last year’s fourth quarter and is down 67 percent from its highest point of $37 million in March of 2007. During the fourth quarter, debt net of cash was reduced by $4.2 million.
“We were pleased that we could complete 2009 with debt net of cash essentially flat in this environment,” added Cook. “Even in the face of the contraction of our markets and the expense associated with the refinancing, VIM litigation, SEC review and the Lasertel sale, we were able to end 2009 at essentially the same debt net of cash position as we started the year.”
Full Year 2009 Financial Results
Revenue for the full year was $134.5 million, a decrease of $58.8 million or 30 percent from 2008. The decline in revenue was driven primarily by the impact of the deterioration in the global economy and an unfavorable change in foreign currency exchange rates in the year.
Gross margin declined from 35.6% in 2008 to 31.4% in 2009, driven largely by unfavorable changes in foreign currency exchange rates, the negative impact of lower manufacturing productivity due to volume reductions and a third quarter equipment inventory adjustment of $2.7 million. These negative impacts were partially offset by a favorable mix of product sales and the positive impact of cost reduction actions taken in manufacturing and service during the year.
The Company recorded two non-cash, non-routine charges in 2009: a $19.1 million goodwill write-off and a $16.8 million valuation allowance against its U.S. deferred tax assets. These charges are non-cash and did not affect the Company’s liquidity or cash flows.
Excluding the goodwill impairment charge, operating expenses declined to $54.5 million in 2009, reflecting a year-over-year improvement of $9.3 million, or approximately 15 percent. Lower expenses resulted primarily from lower headcount related costs due to the Company’s cost reduction activities, as well as lower trade show costs and lower legal and other professional services fees.
“We are very pleased with the progress we have made in the past quarter,” commented Jacobson. “Since our last earnings call we have accomplished several significant steps toward achieving our long-term strategy.
— We successfully completed the sale of our Lasertel business, closed on
our new revolving credit facility, completed the SEC review and won our
patent litigation against VIM Technologies in the International Trade
Commission. The effect of these actions is that we will free up
valuable time and resources to focus even more on our growth
initiatives and we will have the financial flexibility to continue to
drive our strategy, expand our business and maximize our shareholder
value.
— In addition to these achievements, our 2009 fourth quarter results
include sequential quarterly revenue growth, a return to positive
adjusted EBITDA and a strengthening of our overall financial position
as we were able to reduce our debt net of cash by $4.2 million.
— Through our cost reduction and profit improvement programs we have
optimized our cost structure, achieving total annualized benefits of
approximately $40 million over the past two years and reducing
operating expense levels by 42 percent from 2007 levels. I am very
pleased that actions such as these have allowed us to achieve a
positive adjusted EBITDA of $1.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2009
on $33.5 million of revenue.
— We also continue to experience positive reactions to our expanded
product portfolio, including our thirteen new product announcements in
the past two years. We are excited about the organic growth potential
that the new portfolio and our expanded international distribution
channels provide us.
We believe revenue has stabilized and we are poised for growth. However, as industry-wide revenue levels tend to be lower in the first quarter due to typical industry seasonality, we expect first quarter 2010 revenue to be consistent with the fourth quarter of 2009. The revenue stabilization combined with our optimized cost structure will allow us to continue to achieve positive adjusted EBITDA in the first quarter of 2010, and we expect that future revenue growth will drive improved profitability and cash generation.”
Information Regarding Non-GAAP Measures
In addition to reporting financial results in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP, the Company provides non-GAAP financial measures, including operating expenses, excluding the impact of restructuring charges; adjusted EBITDA; cash earnings from continuing operations, excluding non-routine charges; working capital, excluding short-term debt; debt net of cash; operating expenses, excluding the impact of goodwill impairment; income from discontinued operations, excluding legal fees; and other GAAP measures adjusted for certain charges, which the Company believes are useful to help investors better understand its past financial performance and prospects for the future. A full reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP measures is provided in the financial tables below. Supplemental financial information has been provided with this release to provide additional details on the Company’s performance.