Exhibit 99.1
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AWARE, INC. REPORTS 2003 FOURTH QUARTER AND ANNUAL FINANCIAL RESULTS
BEDFORD, Mass., February 5, 2004 - Aware, Inc. (NASDAQ: AWRE), a worldwide
leader and innovator of broadband intellectual property, today reported
financial results for its fourth quarter and fiscal year ended December 31,
2003.
Revenues for the fourth quarter of 2003 were $3.2 million compared to $2.3
million for the same period last year. Net loss for the fourth quarter of 2003
was $1.3 million, or $0.06 per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $4.3
million, or $0.19 per diluted share, for the year-ago period.
For the year ended December 31, 2003, revenues were $11.0 million compared to
$13.8 million in the same period last year. Net loss for the year ended December
31, 2003 was $7.9 million or $0.35 per diluted share, compared to a net loss of
$18.7 million, or $0.83 per diluted share, for the year-ago period.
Net loss for the year ended December 31, 2002 included a $7.1 million deferred
tax asset write-off.
Michael Tzannes, chief executive officer, said: "The new ADSL2 and ADSL2+
standards continue to gain momentum in the ADSL industry. These new standards
are enabling higher speeds, longer reach and better diagnostics and maintenance
capabilities. We believe that we are positioned to benefit from ADSL2 and ADSL2+
deployments with our StratiPHY family of intellectual property offerings. In
addition, our Dr.DSL test and diagnostics and our biometrics software businesses
have shown improvement over the last few quarters and look promising for the
future."
He concluded, "The business outlook for Aware is more positive than it has been
for many months."
Note: Aware's conference call will be broadcast live over the Internet today,
February 5, 2004 at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. To listen to the call, please go to
WWW.AWARE.COM, and click on "Investor Relations." The conference call may also
be heard by calling (719) 457-2633 and referencing the confirmation number
197889. A replay of the call will be archived on our website after the call.
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ABOUT AWARE
Aware, Inc. designs, develops, licenses and markets DSL technologies that enable
broadband communications over existing telephone networks. Its solutions,
including splitterless G.lite, full-rate ADSL, ADSL2, ADSL2+, Dr. DSL(R),
StratiPHY2+(TM), and G.SHDSL, address central office as well as customer premise
requirements. Aware is also a leading provider of standards-based biometric
transaction and image compression software toolkits. More information about
Aware can be found at http://www.aware.com.
SAFE HARBOR WARNING
Portions of this release contain forward-looking statements regarding future
events and are subject to risks and uncertainties, such as estimates or
projections of future revenue and earnings and the growth of the DSL market.
Aware wishes to caution you that there are factors that could cause actual
results to differ materially from the results indicated by such statements.
These factors include, but are not limited to: we have a unique business model,
our quarterly results are difficult to predict, we depend on a limited number of
licensees, we derive a significant amount of revenue from one customer, we
depend on equipment companies to incorporate our technology into their products,
we face intense competition from other DSL vendors, DSL technology competes with
other technologies for broadband access, and our business is subject to rapid
technological change. We refer you to the documents Aware files from time to
time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, specifically the section
titled Risk Factors in our quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended
September 30, 2003 and other reports and filings made with the Securities and
Exchange Commission.
Contact: Dave Martin
Aware, Inc.
781-276-4000
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AWARE, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(IN THOUSANDS, EXCEPT PER SHARE DATA)
THREE MONTHS ENDED YEAR ENDED
DECEMBER 31, DECEMBER 31,
------------------------------- ------------------------------
2003 2002 2003 2002
--------------- --------------- --------------- --------------
Revenue:
Product sales....................................... $1,582 $1,131 $4,309 $4,530
Contract revenue.................................... 826 620 3,040 6,797
Royalties........................................... 816 552 3,694 2,517
--------------- --------------- --------------- --------------
Total revenue..................................... 3,224 2,303 11,043 13,844
Costs and expenses:
Cost of product sales............................... 414 124 1,043 955
Cost of contract revenue............................ 589 545 1,587 4,889
Research and development............................ 2,561 4,042 12,074 13,956
Selling and marketing............................... 570 691 2,407 2,966
General and administrative.......................... 530 1,441 2,387 3,607
--------------- --------------- --------------- --------------
Total costs and expenses........................... 4,664 6,843 19,498 26,373
Loss from operations.................................... (1,440) (4,540) (8,455) (12,529)
Interest income......................................... 134 199 597 894
--------------- --------------- --------------- --------------
Loss before provision for income taxes.................. (1,306) (4,341) (7,858) (11,635)
Provision for income taxes.............................. - - - (7,093)
--------------- --------------- --------------- --------------
Net loss................................................ ($1,306) ($4,341) ($7,858) ($18,728)
=============== =============== =============== ==============
Net loss per share - basic and diluted ................. ($0.06) ($0.19) ($0.35) ($0.83)
Weighted average shares - basic and diluted ............ 22,730 22,690 22,713 22,679
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AWARE, INC.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(IN THOUSANDS)
DECEMBER 31, DECEMBER 31,
2003 2002
---------------- ------------------
ASSETS
Cash and investments..................................................... $38,964 $47,118
Accounts receivable, net................................................. 2,649 1,258
Property and equipment, net.............................................. 8,921 10,038
Other assets, net........................................................ 690 823
---------------- ------------------
Total assets............................................................. $51,224 $59,237
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LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
Total current liabilities................................................ $1,404 $1,659
Total stockholders' equity.............................................. 49,820 57,578
---------------- ------------------
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity............................... $51,224 $59,237
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