All American Sales Up 50 Percent

Electronic News, April 17, 2000 by Heidi Elliott

All American Semiconductor Inc. last week reported its unaudited sales for the first quarter were up 50 percent.

The Miami-based distributor reported its sales for the quarter ended March 31 were approximately $107 million, up from sales of $71 million in 1999. The company also expects an increase in profitability for the quarter. All American will likely release its full quarterly results later this month.

Bruce M. Goldberg, president and chief executive officer, said the company's sales reached a milestone--this is the first time sales for a quarter have passed the $100 million mark. He attributed the success to increased market penetration in most territories. The company has offices in 34 locations throughout North America. This quarter was also the company's fifth consecutive quarter in reaching a sales record. "The trends in the industry continue to work in our favor," Goldberg said in an interview last week. Besides the overall economic upturn for distributors, he said All American, as a midsize distributor, has benefited from the merger and acquisition activity in the industry. "Distribution acquisitions always result in some attrition of customers and the magnitude of the most recent consolidations in the industry are on a bigger scale than ever before".

"Customers, who two years ago said 'we really like you All American, but we have too many distributors,' now are saying, 'we really need you.' Two or three of their distributors have gone away. That continues to be an opportunity for us. We're filling a void without having to compete with the megadistributors," said Goldberg.

During the quarter, Goldberg noted, the company maintained a book-to-bill ratio of more than 1.3 to 1. All American has also been investing in several new technologies including configurable system-on-a-chip (CSOC) networking, broadband, and telecom products from existing and new suppliers.