Home / Media / Press Release

Icron Reports Third Quarter Results

Vancouver, British Columbia, November 28, 2003 – Icron Technologies Corporation (TSX.V:IT) today announced results for the third quarter of 2003. All figures are in Canadian dollars.

Third Quarter Results:
(three months ended September 30, 2003 compared with three months ended
September 30, 2002)

• Total revenue was $528,655 compared with $516,932
• Net loss was $124,300 compared with a loss of $63,153
• Net loss per share was ($0.01) compared with a loss of ($0.02)

Revenue for the third quarter increased 2% to $528,655 from the $516,932 reported in the third quarter ended September 30, 2002. For the nine months ended September 30, 2003, revenues were $1,662,228, an increase of 25% over revenues of $1,326,687 for the nine months ended September 30, 2002.

Icron attributes the change in its quarterly net loss to three primary factors: an increase in research and development costs which are expensed as they occur, an increase in sales and marketing expenses incurred in building OEM business, and currency exchange differences.

Strength in the Canadian dollar continues to adversely impact the company’s revenues and earnings as revenue is primarily generated in U.S. dollars. During the third quarter the Canadian dollar averaged 1.38 per U.S. dollar compared to an average of 1.57 in the prior years third quarter and an average of 1.40 in the second quarter of 2003. This had a negative affect and reduced the third quarter revenue by roughly 16% when compared to the previous year.

Gross margin as a percentage of revenue continued to stay strong as the company posted 43.4% margins for the quarter ending September 30, 2003 compared to 42.4% reported for the quarter ending September 30, 2002. For the nine months ended September 30, 2003 the company reported margins of 42.6% compared to the 39.3% reported in the same period of the prior year. Improved operating efficiencies resulting from continued focus on material management procedures, supplier management and economies of scale should allow the company to continue to maintain this margin level for the remainder of the year. The strength of the Canadian dollar had a minimal effect on the company’s margins as the majority of the component and manufacturing labour costs are in U.S. dollars.

Suresh Singh, President and CEO stated that Icron sustained its focus on revenue growth and technology development. In the quarter, the company announced several major achievements including the following:

• Initial sales of USB Ranger 422 fiber-optic products to U.S. defence industry. Further success is expected in this segment given the advantages of protection from EMI/RFI (electro-magnetic and radio-frequency) interference.
• Launch of Icron’s USB Rover product line – three models were introduced. These products are designed to bring Icron’s expertise to popular price points that will drive increased sales in consumer, small to medium business and enterprise computing markets.
• Icron will receive funding from the Government of Canada’s National Research Council (NRC) through its Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP). This funding will accelerate the company’s development of next generation solutions based on USB 2.0.

A number of major initiatives that were underway in the third quarter have been announced since the end of the quarter, including the following:

• Partnership with StarTech.com Ltd. – Icron’s USB Ranger and Rover product lines to be private-labelled and launched in Q4 through StarTech.com’s worldwide sales channels. Startech.com’s products are available through leading wholesale distributors such as Ingram Micro, D&H and EMJ and through leading resellers such as CDW, Insight and others.
• Partnership with EMJ America – Icron’s packaged and board-level products to be sold by EMJ Embedded Systems. Icron’s products will be distributed to customers with applications in industrial automation, medical equipment, security and military market segments.
• Partnership with L-com Connectivity Products – a new distributor and e-tailer for Icron. L-com is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of connectivity product and has a large number of enterprise, commercial and government customers.

Mr. Singh also said that the company anticipates these initiatives along with work being done on further product development and partnerships, will deliver improved growth in coming quarters.

About Icron Technologies Corporation

Icron Technologies Corporation is a leading provider of high-performance connectivity technologies for the computer marketplace. Icron's patented ExtremeUSB® technology is compliant with USB Implementers Forum requirements and touches several large worldwide markets from industrial automation to multimedia production and computer networking. The company provides packaged products, Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) modules, developer kits, and engineering and development services.

Icron is a publicly traded corporation and trades under the symbol "IT" on the TSX Venture Exchange.

Contacts

For further information, please contact the following: