DECEMBER 10--PPT VISION Inc. (Minneapolis, MN; www.pptvision.com) has announced financial results for the fourth quarter, ended October 31, 2004. Net revenues for the fourth quarter were $2,106,000, which represents a 3% decrease from revenue levels in the fourth quarter of last fiscal year. The company's net loss from continuing operations for the quarter was $219,000, or $0.02 per share, as compared with a loss from continuing operations of $149,000, or $0.01 per share, for the same period in FY2003.
For the year, net revenues increased 15% to $8.7 million, compared with $7.5 million for the previous year. The company reported a net loss from continuing operations for fiscal 2004 of $1.1 million or $0.09 per share, an improvement of 60% compared to a loss from continuing operations of $2.6 million or $0.25 per share for fiscal 2003. These results represent the 2-D business operations of the company only. The company completed the sale of its 3-D business in October and in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, has restated it financial results to present the 3-D business as a discontinued business operation. Accordingly, all 3-D related revenue and expenses have been removed from continuing operations and presented in a separate line in the statement of operations entitled "Gain or loss from discontinued operations" for all periods presented.
PPT also reported a loss from discontinued operations of $842,000 in the fourth quarter. This represents the loss on the sale of the 3-D business and the results of the operations of that business unit in the quarter. The loss on the sale is the result of the write off of the 3-D related patents, equipment, and inventory. Most of these costs are noncash expenses, and the sale generated approximately $800,000 in cash for the company in the quarter. The company expects to receive the final installment payment of $200,000 from Ismeca early in calendar 2005.
"An important development during the fourth quarter has been the sale of our 3D-SMI technology asset to our long-time partner, Ismeca Semiconductor Europe SA. This transaction, which was previously disclosed, not only provides PPT with cash that we will use to continue our 2-D business product development and marketing; it significantly reduces our operating expenses, and, most importantly, it enables us to focus completely on growing our 2-D business, which we believe will provide a superior return for our shareholders," stated Joe Christenson, president of PPT Vision.
"The most important accomplishment of the past year is the growing sales and positive customer acceptance of our IMPACT machine-vision product family. This is a trend we expect to continue, and 100% of the company's energy and resources are now focused on development, marketing, and customer support associated with the IMPACT product family. PPT shipped more than 600 IMPACT systems in FY2004 to a wide variety of customers in the electronics, automotive, medical-device, and packaging segments. This represents more than triple the number of IMPACT units shipped in FY2004," continued Christenson.