News

Tidel reports $2.4M loss in 4Q 2001

February 24, 2002

HOUSTON -- Tidel Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq:ATMS - news) reported a net loss of $2.4 million, or diluted loss of 14 cents a share, for the three months ended Dec. 31, 2001, compared to net income of $1.9 million, or diluted earnings of 10 cents a share, for the same quarter in 2000.

For the 2001 quarter, Tidel's revenues were $4.6 million, a decrease from the $16.7 million reported in the same quarter of the prior year.

According to Tidel, the loss for the quarter was primarily attributable to the loss of business of its former largest customer, Credit Card Center. For the 2000 quarter, Tidel sold $11.8 million worth of equipment to CCC. During January 2001, the company became aware that CCC was experiencing financial difficulty and discontinued sales to the ISO.

For the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2001, Tidel shipped 677 ATMs, an 80 percent decrease from the 3,310 units shipped in the same quarter of the prior year. For the 2001 quarter, shipments to non-CCC customers decreased 30 percent from the 971 units shipped to non-CCC customers in the same quarter of the prior year.

According to a news release, management attributes the decline in non-CCC business in latest quarter to the economic downturn following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 and the deferral of ATM purchases by certain retailers until 2002.

In addition to the loss of CCC revenue and the related gross profit, the operating results for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2001 were impacted by increases over the prior year of approximately $300,000 in legal and accounting fees related to the bankruptcy of CCC and other matters, and approximately $400,000 in accelerated interest expense related to the missed "put payment' in August 2001 on the company's 6 percent subordinated convertible debentures.

"Tidel has come through a difficult year and management is focused on the turnaround effort ahead. We continue to work with the holders of $18 million of our convertible debentures to restructure the obligations, and manage the collection effort from the bankruptcy estate of CCC," said Mark K. Levenick, Tidel's interim chief executive officer.

"Going forward, we are trying to build a solid future for the company by entering into new relationships, such as our recently announced strategic partnership with CashWorks, and changing our product slate to meet the demands of the marketplace. We introduced our new is800 ATM, our lowest-priced ATM product to date, and later this year we expect to debut an entirely new product line designed for mass retailers that combines elements of our market-leading cash controller technology with our ATM technology.'