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Today's report from Web Editor
Susan Rush
• The Quarterly Earnings Parade Gets Underway
• Covad Closes 2001 With 351,000 Lines In
Service
• Study: iTV Market Is Taking Shape, Finally
• Speakeasy Launches Music-On-Demand Service
• FiberCore Snags $6 Million In Financing
• Broadband Briefs
The Quarterly Earnings Parade
Gets Underway
While the majority of the telecom companies will be
announcing their quarterly results next week, some are letting their numbers
out from under their hats a few days early. Results from SONICblue, Juniper
Networks, Vyyo and Eagle Broadband offer a mixed bag.
SONICblue
Shares of SONICblue Inc.
skyrocketed in mid-day trading following news that the personal video
recorder maker expects fourth-quarter revenue to be 35 percent higher than
originally forecast.
The company expects to post revenue in the range of $78
million to $80 million. In an earlier estimate, SONICblue was estimating
revenue of as much as $58 million. The boost in revenue is a result of
strong demand for its PVRs, Rio MP3 players and Go-Video DVD home theater
systems, the company says.
SONICblue, which plans to release audited Q4 results on Feb.
6, says it is confident about its earlier earnings forecast of 11 cents a
share, excluding charges. As of 1:04 p.m. EST, company shares were up 95
cents, or 24 percent, to $4.81.
Juniper Networks
Network equipment maker Juniper Networks
Inc. posted a fourth-quarter net loss, and is warning that revenue will be
flat for the first half of 2002.
The company reported a net loss of $5.1 million, or 2 cents a
share. The loss narrowed from the year earlier period, in which Juniper
posted a net loss of $13.4 million, or 4 cents a share.
Quarter-over-quarter, net revenue dipped from $201.7 million
to $151 million. Juniper's results were hit by reduced telecom equipment
spending. The company is the No. 2 maker of network routers behind market
leader Cisco Systems Inc., and it recently entered the broadband cable
market with the acquisition of Pacific Broadband, a cable modem termination
systems maker.
Looking into its crystal ball, Juniper expects to post
revenue of between $305 million and $315 million for the first half of 2002.
Juniper shares fell 58 cents to $17.38 as of 1:06 p.m. EST.
Vyyo Inc.
Broadband wireless access systems provider Vyyo
Inc. narrowed its quarter-over-quarter net loss from $11.1 million in Q3
2001 to $3.2 million in Q4. Fourth-quarter net revenue reached $3.3 million.
Year-end revenue totals for 2000 were $8.2 million.
As of Dec. 31, Vyyo had cash equivalents and short-term
investment balances of $84.1 million. Vyyo shares lost 3 cents to $1.42 as
of 12:52 p.m. EST.
Eagle Broadband
In the first quarter of 2002, Eagle
Broadband's sales increased and net income decreased primarily due to
the company's investment in the expansion of the ClearWorks
Fiber-to-the-Home network in Houston and Austin.
Sales increased from $6.9 million in Q1 2001 to $8.8 million
in Q1 2002. Eagle posted a net loss of $3.4 million in Q1 2002, as compared
to net income of $63,000 in the year earlier period. As of Nov. 30, Eagle
had cash and cash equivalents of $16.3 million.
Yesterday, Eagle's board of directors approved the expansion
of an already established stock buyback program. The authorization to
repurchase an additional 1 million shares, beyond the 1 million shares
previously authorized, enables Eagle Broadband to purchase up to a composite
total of 2 million shares of Eagle's outstanding common stock.
Eagle Broadband shares were trading at 59 cents as of 12:59
p.m. EST.
Covad Closes 2001 With
351,000 Lines In Service
Despite spending a good chunk of 2001 in the bowels of
bankruptcy, Covad Communications managed
to boost its full-year operating statistics.
As of Dec. 31, Covad had roughly 351,000 lines in service on
its network, which translates to a 1 percent increase from Sept. 30. At the
end of 2000, DSL carrier had 274,000 lines in service. A little over half --
52 percent -- of Covad's lines are business lines.
Thirteen percent of Covad's total lines are served through
resellers -- the company only recognizes revenue from these partners when it
is paid.
On Dec. 20, Covad accomplished what many of its broadband
service provider counterparts -- NorthPoint Communications Inc., Excite@Home
and Rhythms Netconnections Inc. failed to do -- it emerged from Chapter 11
bankruptcy proceedings. While under the shroud of bankruptcy protection,
Covad eliminated $1.4 billion in debt and raised enough capital to fully
fund its business plan.
"We have lowered our cost structure, increased revenue
and decreased losses by focusing on small business lines and have continued
to manage our distressed partner line," Covad President and CEO Charles
Hoffman said in a statement. "(We) are now better positioned to control
our future."
The company reduced its cash usage for the fourth quarter to
less than $20 million per month, excluding bankruptcy related payments and
the funding received from SBC Communications.
Related Stories:
Covad
Gets Green Light To Emerge From Bankruptcy, 12/14/01
Covad
Jumps On Operating Stats, 10/19/01
iTV Market Is Taking Shape,
Finally
Although the battle to define exactly what interactive
television means is far from over, the North American market is poised for
growth, one analysis says.
On-demand applications will lead the iTV charge, as the
number of worldwide households using on-demand services will skyrocket from
1.3 million in 2001 to more than 33 million in 2005, according to the latest
findings from Cahners In-Stat/MDR, which
is owned by the same parent as Broadband Week. Revenue from the North
American video-on-demand market is forecast to surpass $1.75 billion in
2005.
"After years of trials and tentative service
introductions, the past year has seen interactive services become a common
sight on most pay-TV networks," says Mike Paxton, a senior analyst for
In-Stat/MDR. "The expanded capabilities that two-way, digital
transmission networks offer to both subscribers and service providers have
resulted in greater penetration of interactive applications like electronic
programming guides and video-on-demand," he says.
The Interactive
TV: On-Demand Services Prime the Pump report examines
the availability and the development of iTV services, with an emphasis on
emerging "on-demand" services. It covers the issues surrounding
the introduction and provisioning of interactive applications via pay-TV and
broadcast network infrastructures, and examines the drivers behind the
rising interest surrounding interactive TV, according to In-Stat.
Related Stories:
Microsoft,
Charter In iTV Pact, 11/8/01
Cable's
Top Two MSOs Retrench on iTV, 7/23/01
iTV
Market Ripens for Consolidation, 7/23/01
Speakeasy Launches
Music-On-Demand Service
Speakeasy and Listen.com
are teaming up to distribute a digital music subscription service, dubbed
Rhapsody, to the broadband service provider's DSL customers.
Rhapsody is geared to broadband subscribers and offers online
radio, on-demand music playback, contextual music information and editorial
recommendations to users. The partnership with online music service provider
Listen.com enables Speakeasy to expand its music portfolio.
The launch of Rhapsody on Speakeasy's network marks the
service's first deployment over a broadband network. "Speakeasy clearly
understands that on-demand entertainment services go hand-in-hand with fast
connection speeds," says Sean Ryan, Listen.com's president and CEO.
So far, Listen.com has inked three licensing deals with major
record labels. Sony Corp.'s Sony Music Entertainment is the latest label to
agree to enable Listen.com to add its recordings to the digital music
subscription service. The deal was unveiled yesterday.
Prior to yesterday's announcement, Listen.com had inked
distribution deals with Bertelsmann's BMG Entertainment and EMI Recorded
Music. The company contends it is in discussions about licensing deals with
the two remaining labels that make up the five majors.
Rhapsody is competing for subscribers with pressplay and
MusicNet. pressplay is backed by Sony Music Entertainment and Universal
Music Group. MusicNet is backed by RealNetworks Inc., AOL Time Warner,
Bertelsmann and EMI Group.
Related Stories:
pressplay
Adds CD Burning To Services List, 12/11/01
Music
Hits Broadband Note, 10/29/01
FiberCore Snags $6 Million In
Financing
Just two and a half weeks into the new year, FiberCore Inc.
has got its nose to the grindstone. The latest: the optical fiber supplier
has raised $6 million in private placement.
FiberCore will receive $5 million when the deal closes, and
an additional $1 million upon the effectiveness filing of a registration
statement in connection with the transaction, the company says.
The company's private placement of $6 million in 5 percent
Convertible Subordinated Debentures to institutional investors includes an
option to boost the total dollar amount to $9 million. Under the terms, each
of the investors has the option to place another $3 million of the
debentures under certain conditions, provided the aggregate amount does not
exceed $3 million.
FiberCore intends to use the funds to expand its business of
supplying fiber to independent cablers around the world.
Earlier this week, FiberCore estimated that year-end revenue
will increase from $36.9 million in 2000 to $54 million in 2001. If the
company reaches its revenue goal, it will translate to a 47 percent
year-over-year increase.
The company recently drummed up support for its first U.S.
manufacturing facility. FiberCore plans to contribute one-third of the $30
million estimated project costs. The remaining monies will come from a
15-year loan provided by Retirement Systems of Alabama (RSA). The company
expects the Auburn, Ala.-based facility will open in 2004 and mainly serve
its existing U.S. customer base.
Related Story:
2001
Revenue Tops $54 Million At FiberCore, 1/14/02
Broadband Briefs:
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Cisco Systems
Inc. will ship a free trial version of HarmonyCOM
Inc.'s Harmony Subscriber Management software with its Cisco 7200 and
7400 series routers. The software is designed to automate and eliminate
many manual tasks associated with managing, provisioning and monitoring
services and subscriber data.
-
Wi-LAN
Inc. enters a joint venture, dubbed Wi-COMM Communications Co. Ltd.,
designed to accelerate broadband wireless penetration in the Chinese
market. Wi-LAN sees the ventures as a way to extend its reach and
visibility in China.
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Clear
partners with Corvis Corp. to
deliver an optically optimized networking management solution to enable
carriers to monitor and maintain their networks. The Corvis Network
Manager will interface with the Clearview product portfolio via the TeleManagement
Forum 513 industry standard interfaces, according to the companies.
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