MARCH 13--For the 12 months ended December 31, 2001, Coreco (Montreal, Quebec, Canada; www.coreco.com) reported revenues of $26,008,794 compared with $21,010,057 for the same period a year earlier. Net earnings from operations (excluding amortization and write-off of intangibles related to acquisitions) amounted to $2,326,388 or $0.32 per share, versus $2,659,183 or $0.36 per share in 2000. Fourth-quarter revenues amounted to $4,739,352 compared with $7,220,474 a year ago, and net earnings from operations were $272,483 or $0.04 per share, versus $770,743 or $0.10 per share in the same quarter of 2000.
The company continues to report a strong balance sheet with a net cash position. Working capital improved by 19% to $9,143,486, and cash more than doubled to stand at $3,485,703 at December 31, 2001.
After accounting for noncash acquisition-related charges, which applied to the full 12 months in 2001 compared with just six months in 2000, the company reported a loss of $3,872,262 ($0.53 per share) in 2001 compared with a loss of $200,754 ($0.03) in 2000. Acquisition-related charges in the fourth quarter amounted to $2,100,920 in 2001 versus $1,412,192 last year. The increase is due to a writedown of $643,118 related to the Ottawa-based Dipix acquisition in January 1999.
"The general economic slowdown together with the tragic events of last September had a sustained impact on revenues in the last quarter of 2001," reported CEO Keith Reuben. "While shipments to our current customer base slowed in the second half of the year, new design-win activity was strong, which indicates that we are attracting and adding new customers."
