Comverse Technology Announces Record Q4 And FY 2000 Results: Q4 EPS -Diluted- Of $0.41 Vs. $0.30; Q4 Sales Up 37%, Net Income Up 48% To Record Levels

Business Wire, March 13, 2001

Business Editors

WOODBURY, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 13, 2001

Comverse Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:CMVT) announced for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2000, ended January 31, 2001, net income growth of 48%, to a record $76,865,000 ($0.41 per diluted share), compared with $51,897,000 ($0.30 per diluted share) for the fourth quarter of fiscal 1999.

The company posted record sales of $346,553,000 for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2000, an increase of 37% over the fourth quarter of fiscal 1999.

For fiscal year 2000, ended January 31, 2001, net income was $263,974,000, or $1.47 per diluted share (excluding one-time acquisition charges, net of tax, of $14,838,000, or $0.08 per diluted share), an increase of 51% over the net income, excluding one-time acquisition charges, of fiscal 1999. Sales for fiscal 2000 were $1,225,058,000, an increase of 35% over fiscal 1999.

Kobi Alexander, Chairman and CEO of Comverse Technology, stated, "Our fourth quarter results reflect our leadership position in our major markets. More than 360 wireless and wireline telecommunications network operators have selected Comverse's enhanced services systems and software, which enable the provision of revenue-generating value-added services including call answering, wireless data and Internet-based information services, prepaid wireless services, Internet-based unified messaging (voice, fax, and email in a single mailbox), one-touch call return, voice-controlled web portal and other speech recognition-based services, and additional personal communication services. In addition, our Comverse Infosys division continues to benefit primarily from the use of monitoring and customer relationship management tools to improve customer satisfaction and overall quality for contact centers, and our Ulticom division continues to benefit from the growth in intelligent network services, as well as the convergence of circuit and packet communications technologies."

The company ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents, bank time deposits and short-term investments of $1,735,840,000, working capital of $1,860,379,000, total assets of $2,625,264,000 and stockholders' equity of $1,236,165,000, all of which represent record levels.

Financial highlights at and for the twelve and three month periods ended January 31, 2001 and prior year comparisons are as follows:

                         Financial Highlights
                 (In thousands, except per share data)

Operations Data (excluding one-time acquisition charges):

                       Twelve Months Ended        Three Months Ended
                    January 31,  January 31,   January 31, January 31,
                        2000         2001          2000        2001

Sales                 $909,667   $1,225,058      $252,067     $346,553
Cost of sales          352,748      460,630        97,024      129,566
Research and
 development, net      169,816      232,198        46,921       65,892
Selling, general and
 administrative        193,996      259,607        53,165       73,841
Royalties and license
 fees                   18,841       22,028         4,771        6,064
Income from operations 174,266      250,595        50,186       71,190
Interest and other
 income, net            16,595       33,339         6,063       11,089
Income before income
 tax provision         190,861      283,934        56,249       82,279
Income tax provision    15,860       19,960         4,352        5,414
Net income            $175,001     $263,974       $51,897      $76,865
Net income per share,
 diluted                 $1.09        $1.47         $0.30        $0.41
Net income per share,
 basic                   $1.20        $1.63         $0.34        $0.46

      Note: The above amounts for the twelve months ended January 31,
2000 and 2001 have been adjusted to eliminate the one-time
acquisition-related charges of $1,854, net of tax, or $0.01 per
diluted share and $14,838, net of tax, or $0.08 per diluted share,
respectively.

                         Financial Highlights
                 (In thousands, except per share data)

      Operations Data (including one-time acquisition charges,
recognized during the twelve months ended January 31, 2000 and 2001,
of $1,854, net of tax, or $0.01 per diluted share and $14,838, net of
tax, or $0.08 per diluted share, respectively):


                      Twelve Months Ended        Three Months Ended
                    January 31,  January 31,   January 31, January 31,
                       2000         2001          2000        2001

Sales                 $909,667   $1,225,058      $252,067     $346,553
Cost of sales          352,748      460,630        97,024      129,566
Research and
 development, net      169,816      232,198        46,921       65,892
Selling, general and
 administrative        193,996      259,607        53,165       73,841
Royalties and license
 fees                   18,841       22,028         4,771        6,064
One-time
 acquisition-related
  charges                2,016       15,971             -            -
Income from operations 172,250      234,624        50,186       71,190
Interest and other
 income, net            16,595       33,339         6,063       11,089
Income before income tax
 provision             188,845      267,963        56,249       82,279
Income tax provision    15,698       18,827         4,352        5,414
Net income            $173,147     $249,136       $51,897      $76,865
Net income per share,
 diluted                 $1.08        $1.39         $0.30        $0.41
Net income per share,
 basic                   $1.19        $1.54         $0.34        $0.46

                         Financial Highlights
                   (In thousands, except share data)

Balance Sheet Data:

                                January 31,                January 31,
ASSETS                              2000                       2001

CURRENT ASSETS:
 Cash and cash equivalents        $342,535                  $1,275,105
 Bank time deposits and short-term
  investments                      439,054                     460,735
 Accounts receivable, net          266,203                     359,317
 Inventories                       101,728                     115,799
 Prepaid expenses and other current
  assets                            41,243                      64,729
TOTAL CURRENT ASSETS             1,190,763                   2,275,685
PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT, net        126,101                     183,444
INVESTMENTS                         19,749                      96,870
OTHER ASSETS                        36,234                      69,265
TOTAL ASSETS                    $1,372,847                  $2,625,264

LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
CURRENT LIABILITIES:
 Accounts payable and accrued
  expenses                        $235,860                    $288,921
 Advance payments from customers    94,777                     122,175
 Other current liabilities           1,822                       4,210
TOTAL CURRENT LIABILITIES          332,459                     415,306
CONVERTIBLE SUBORDINATED
 DEBENTURES                        300,000                     900,000
LIABILITY FOR SEVERANCE PAY          6,185                       7,924
OTHER LIABILITIES                    9,364                      12,404
TOTAL LIABILITIES                  648,008                   1,335,634
MINORITY INTEREST                        -                      53,465

STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY:
 Common stock, $0.10 par value
  - authorized, 600,000,000 shares;
  issued and outstanding,
  155,776,298 and 168,643,623
  shares                            15,577                      16,864
 Additional paid-in capital        424,075                     692,014
 Retained earnings                 282,764                     520,144
 Accumulated other comprehensive
  income                             2,423                       7,143
TOTAL STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY         724,839                   1,236,165
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS'
 EQUITY                         $1,372,847                  $2,625,264