|
Last quarter Boca Research had outstanding results that we said was a good sign. This quarter, the 1st quarter, the company announced far lower sales and a loss. According to the company, this loss comes partly because of one of the things that has made Apple's ongoing recovery all that much better, the Blue and White G3. According to a press release by Boca Research:
As previously disclosed, we expected first quarter revenue to be significantly lower than the $18.4 million in revenue that we reported in the fourth quarter. The decline in sales is the direct result of the unexpected timing of the introduction of Apple(R)'s new line of Power Macintosh(R) G3 minitowers at MacWorld Expo in January 1999, which negatively impacted sales of our existing Global Village(R) TelePort(tm) modems for Mac(R)s. In fact, because of the introduction of the Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface, no modems were available for the Power Mac(tm) G3s until Boca Research began shipping the Global Village TelePort Internal 56K fax/modem in the second half of February. Mac-based modems have been a significant source of revenue for Boca Research since its mid-1998 acquisition of the modem business of Global Village Communication, Inc.
In the first quarter of 1999, we paid off the remaining $2.8 million of debt in cash related to the acquisition of the modem business of Global Village Communication, Inc. As of March 31, 1999, cash and cash equivalents were $2.7 million, and we still have an unused line of credit," Mr. Zalenski said. The company also disclosed that it anticipates receiving an income tax refund of approximately $2 million in the second quarter of 1999.
The Mac Observer Spin: We fully expect to see Boca Research rebound next quarter. This quarter may have been harsh, but the company seems poised to take advantage of Apple's new product lines.
It is certainly interesting to see what effect Apple's success has upon the rest of the Mac market. In most cases, other companies are able to ride the coattails of success themselves. This time, one company takes a hit as it reacts to changes at Apple. As we said, Boca is likely to rebound and will be well.
Boca Research
|