Kopin posts record revenue in partial 3Q report

TAUNTON – In the quarter ended Sept. 29, Kopin Corp. (Nasdaq: KOPN) today posted a preliminary third-quarter loss of $772,000, on record revenue of $29.2 million, before the effect of any adjustments resulting from its ongoing review of past stock-option granting practices.
The loss reflects “a high percentage of display sales into the bridge digital camera market that were aggressively priced to capture market share; continued investments to expand capacity and infrastructure in the CyberDisplay and III-V business segments; and professional expenses of $430,000 … resulting from the company’s stock-option review,” the report said.
Revenue for the period ended Sept. 29 was 34 percent above the second quarter’s $21.8 million and 87 percent above the 2006 third quarter’s $15.6 million, the company said in today’s preliminary results.
Third-quarter revenue from the CyberDisplay electronic viewfinder segment totaled $18.1 million, a 69-percent increase from the second quarter’s $10.7 million and more than three times the year-ago period’s $5.6 million. Revenue from the “III-V” integrated-circuit segment was unchanged from the second quarter at $11.1 million, an 11.1-percent increase from the 2006 third quarter’s $10.0 million.
“Kopin’s record top-line results in the third quarter reflect the strong performance of our CyberDisplay business, which posted a year-over-year revenue increase of 220 percent,” John C.C. Fan, Kopin’s president and CEO, said in a statement. ““Our display revenue was fueled by further penetration of our QVGA-resolution displays and modules into the bridge digital still camera market, through alliances with leading OEM partners such as Fujifilm, Kodak and Olympus.
“On the strength of these relationships, we continue to increase our market share in the bridge digital-still camera market,” Fan said. “We believe today that 4 out of every 10 bridge cameras sold worldwide are equipped with electronic viewfinders produced by Kopin. Consistent with our ‘disruptive technology’ strategy, the bridge camera market serves as an entry point for higher resolution Kopin displays addressing SLR cameras and other higher margin opportunities in the digital photography market.”
“Our display technology also continues to make exciting progress in the video eyewear segment,” Fan said. “Display revenue for video eyewear systems doubled between the second and third quarters of 2007. We believe that mobile video is poised for explosive growth, and Kopin’s technology puts us at the forefront of this market as consumer demand accelerates.
“On the military front, our display sales to the U.S. Army’s Thermal Weapons Sight II (TWS-II) program are strengthening with continued shipments to our program partners,” Fan said. “With the recent adoption of our new CyberDisplay 640M LVR display for the newest TWS program – and other programs in development – we continue to expect 2008 to be a year of growth for our military products.”
Going forward, Fan said, “we expect the investments we are making in our display and III-V product lines to drive growth and success in the quarters ahead. … The outlook for our markets remains strong, and we expect to achieve the upper end of our previously announced revenue range of between $90 million and $95 million for full-year fiscal 2007,” Fan said.
Full financial results for the quarter will be filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on a Form 10-Q once the company completes its restatement of certain results for fiscal 1995 through 2006, Kopin said.
The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC board of directors has given Kopin until Dec. 17 to regain compliance by filing all overdue financial reports. (READ MORE)
Kopin Corp. (Nasdaq: KOPN) develops and manufactures telecommunications and digital imaging technologies under the Kopin, CyberDisplay and NanoSemiconductor Co. trademarks. Additional information is available at www.kopin.com.