Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Relm Wireless radios in revenue

From: Marcelrf <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 03 Mar 2004 14:04:21 -0500

Mar 1, 10:02 PM
Relm Wireless radios in revenue

Noo Veight solders a board before it will be installed in a Relm
Wireless Corp. radio at the West Melbourne plant.

Photo by Michael R. Brown, FLORIDA TODAY

Better earnings could bring in more local jobs
BY WAYNE T. PRICE
FLORIDA TODAY

Boosted by sales of its digital radios, West-Melbourne-based Relm
Wireless Corp. experienced a sizzling fourth quarter and its best annual
financial report in 17 years.

The company's stock soared almost 13 percent Monday to close at $3.10,
up 35 cents, in Over the Counter Bulletin Board trading. The stock set a
52-week high of $3.13 earlier in the day, and volume was 323,515 shares
-- more than six times average daily volume.

Revenue for the designer and manufacturer rugged analog and digital
land-mobile radios for government and commercial use shot up to $5.90
million during the fourth quarter of 2003, compared with $2.32 million
in the fourth quarter of 2002.
Profits for the quarter increased to $972,000, compared with a loss of
$2.22 million for the fourth quarter of the prior year.
Relm employs about 60 people in Brevard County, and company executives
said more orders and healthy earnings report could lead to more hires,
though they wouldn't specify a number or timetable for boosting the work
force.

Relm executives said the positive revenue came from sales of its new
products, principally the company's BK Radio-brand digital portable
radio, which was approved by various federal government agencies in the
first half of 2003. Relm also realized additional revenue during the
fourth quarter of 2003 from the introduction of a new line of portable
radios targeting business and industrial customers.

Relm's performance indicates how small defense and civil contractors are
benefiting from increased spending following concerns over public
safety, said Paul Nisbet, an aerospace and defense analyst for JSA
Research, out of Newport, R.I.
Those government outlays likely would have occurred had the Sept. 11,
2001, terrorist attacks happened or not, Nisbet said.
"But there would have been more resistance in Congress had it not been
for 9-11," he said.

"These results represent Relm's best performance in 17 years, validating
our recent turnaround," said Relm President and Chief Executive Officer
Dave Storey.

Relm's gross profit margins for the fourth quarter 2003 increased to
47.2 percent from 7.2 percent for the same period last year, an
improvement of about 555.6 percent. For the year 2003, gross profit
margins increased to 38.6 percent from 26.4 percent for 2002, an
improvement of about 46.2 percent.

For the full year, revenue increased to $19.73 million from $15.98
million for the prior year. Net income for 2003 rose to $1.01 million
(11 cents a share) from a net loss of $3.63 million (47 cents a share)
for the prior year.
Also helping, Storey said, was the first wave of new product
introductions in its premier BK Radio-brand digital radios -- used by
public safety, homeland security, military and federal/state/local
government agencies -- has helped spur growth.
Also, the company's digital products feature "proprietary, streamlined
technology" certified as compliant with what is known as the Project 25
standard of the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials.
The standard allows radio communications among radios made by different
manufacturers.

Storey said compliance with the standard is increasingly becoming the
key decision factor for public safety purchasers.
"We believe that the demand for Project 25-compliant equipment will fuel
growth in the land-mobile-radio market as users upgrade systems to
comply with the Federal Communications Commission mandate for the use of
spectrum-efficient technology," Storey said.

In October, Relm received a boost when it received $3.5 million in
orders from the U.S. Department of Interior and the state of California,
for BK Radio-branded equipment.

William Kelly, Relm's executive vice president and chief financial
officer, said the company's products are proving popular with government
agencies because they have a longer battery life and cost less than
those put out by larger competitors such as EFJ Inc. and Motorola Inc.

The price difference, Kelly said, can be as varied as $1,500 per radio
from Relm vs. $5,000 per radio from a competitor.

http://www.floridatoday.com/!NEWSROOM/moneystory0302RELMMAIN0.htm
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