LCC INTERNATIONAL ANNOUNCES RESULTS FOR FIRST QUARTER OF 2006
For Immediate Release
May 08, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
LCC Contact:
Bob Waldron
Sr. Vice President, Chief Financial Officer & Investor Relations
bob_waldron@lcc.com
+1.703.873.2266
LCC INTERNATIONAL ANNOUNCES RESULTS FOR FIRST QUARTER OF 2006
MCLEAN, VIRGINIA, May 08, 2006 --LCC International, Inc., (NASDAQ: LCCI), a global leader in wireless voice and data turn-key technical consulting services, today released its financial results for the first quarter of 2006.
Revenues for the first quarter were $41.2 million, a decrease of $4.2 million from the revenues for the first quarter of 2005. The Company reported a net loss for the first quarter of $2.2 million compared to the net loss of $3.7 million reported for the first quarter of 2005. Loss per share for the first quarter was $(0.09) on 24.7 million shares compared to the loss per share of $(0.15) for the first quarter of 2005.
Dean J. Douglas, President and Chief Executive Officer stated: ”We continue to move forward with our exit from construction and the deployment business. The impact of this shift is reflected in the decrease of revenue and in the increased gross margin for the US business. The RF engineering business in the US returned to its traditional gross margin of greater than 20% and EMEA continues to be healthy as reflected in their results for this quarter. Our results were negatively impacted by $0.5M for stock-based compensation expense and the required adoption of FAS 123R. Our challenge remains to bring General and Administrative expenses in line with lower revenues when we exit from the deployment business.”
In first quarter of 2006, revenues from network deployment contracts in North America declined $8.4 million compared to the first quarter 2005. Revenues from RF contracts and consulting in North America increased by $0.9 million over the first quarter of 2005. Revenues from South America decreased $0.6 million due to a major carrier slowing down its deployment plans in Brazil. The gross margin for the Americas increased from 9.7% in the first quarter of 2005 to 11.7% due primarily to the increase in higher margin RF revenues and the decrease in lower margin deployment revenues.
In our EMEA region (Europe, Middle East and Africa) revenues for the first quarter of 2006 were higher than the same period last year due to increased revenues from Algeria. Revenues from Saudi Arabia declined slightly. European revenues were down. The overall gross margin for EMEA for the first quarter of 2006 was 25.0%, which compares to 25.4% for the same quarter in 2005
Sales, general and administrative expenses were $8.7 million in the first quarter of 2006, a decrease of $1.1 million from the same period a year ago. This, despite the fact that SG&A for the first quarter of 2006 included $0.5 million of expense for stock-based compensation and the required adoption of FAS 123R for which there was no comparable amount in first quarter 2005.
Loss from operations before income taxes was $1.2 million, which compares to a loss of $2.8 million for the first quarter of 2005.
A conference call to discuss the first quarter 2006 results will be held Tuesday, May 9, at 8:45AM. Details for all interested parties wishing to participate in the conference call are as follows:
Via Live Conference Call: U.S. and International callers please dial 866-831-5605 or 617-213-8851. Participants will need to enter passcode 52034188 in order to be connected to the call. There will be a question and answer period during the call.
Via Live Web Cast: To listen to a live broadcast of the conference call via the Internet, please visit the Investor Relations section of the Company’s web site located at www.lcc.com. In order to participate in the call via the Internet, participants will need a computer with speakers and the Windows® Media Player plug-in.
Via Digital Replay: A replay of the call will begin at approximately 11:00 a.m. Eastern on Tuesday, May 9 and will continue until 12 midnight Eastern on Wednesday, May 10. To access the replay, please dial 888-286-8010 or 617-801-6888 and enter passcode 52584337 to be connected to a recording of the LCC International earnings call.
Via Internet Archive: Beginning Thursday, May 11, LCC’s first quarter 2006 conference call will be available for review on the Company’s web site. This function sorts the call by section that enables parties to save time by only listening to the segments in which they are most interested (i.e. opening remarks, financial overview, questions and answer). To access the May 9th call, go to the Audio Archives page that can be found in the Investor Relations section of the Company’s web site. About LCC
LCC International, Inc. is a global leader in voice and data design, deployment and management services to the wireless telecommunications industry. Since 1983, LCC has performed technical services for the largest wireless operators in North and South America, Europe, The Middle East, Africa and Asia. The Company has worked with all major access technologies and has participated in the success of some of the largest and most sophisticated wireless systems in the world. Through an integrated set of technical business consulting, training, design, deployment, operations and maintenance services, LCC is unique in its ability to provide comprehensive turnkey services to wireless operators around the world. News and additional information are available at www.lcc.com.
Forward Looking Statements
Statements included in this news release which are not historical in nature are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward looking statements relate to expectations, beliefs, projections, future plans and strategies, anticipated events or trends and similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. These include, without limitation, statements regarding increased demand for the Company's services, forecasts of revenues, earnings estimates, statements regarding contracts, work or revenue opportunities the Company may secure in the future, and related information, all of which are based on current factual information and certain assumptions about future events which management believes to be reasonable at this time. There are many risks, uncertainties and other factors that can prevent the Company from achieving its goals or cause the Company's results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements including, without limitation, changes in demand for the Company's services from external factors including general economic conditions or changes in wireless demand or technology affecting network expansion strategies at and financing opportunities for the Company's clients, delays in the award of new work, the termination or reduction of existing projects due to changes in the financial condition or business strategies of the Company's clients, the Company's dependence on hiring and retaining professional staff and key personnel, fluctuations in quarterly results from a variety of internal and external factors including changes in the Company's estimates with respect to the completion of fixed-price contracts, lengthy sales cycles especially with respect to larger projects that may account for a significant portion of the Company's anticipated revenues, intense competition in the marketplace especially from competitors with greater financial resources and financing capabilities, and those risk factors described in LCC International, Inc.'s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. The Company generally provides performance and earnings projections at each quarterly earnings conference call and in specific regulatory filings. These forecasts are as of the date of the call or filing and will include estimates based on factual information and assumptions which management believes to be reasonable at that time. In providing projections and other forward-looking statements, the Company does not make, and specifically disclaims, any undertaking or obligation to update them at any time in the future or at all to reflect new information, future events or otherwise.
